Department for Transport

Driving Licences

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for delays in the return of physical driving licences to applicants by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to use its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA has been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements. Industrial action between April and the end of August by members of the Public and Commercial Services union and the current increased demand for the DVLA’s services has also contributed to delays with paper applications.To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.These measures are having a positive impact. The queues are reducing, and customers will continue to see an improving picture in terms of turnaround times.

Department for Transport: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of his Department's (a) laptops, (b) mobile phones, (c) memory sticks and (d) external hard drives have been lost or stolen in each of the last five years.

Chris Heaton-Harris: DfT has recorded the number of devices reported lost/stolen from 2017 – 2021 as below.  LaptopsMobilesMemory SticksExternal Hard Drives20173240020189481020193976002020933002021133510 * DVSA do not hold data for 2017 and 2018.

Roads: Safety

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on levels of road safety of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport does not anticipate any effects on road safety in the UK as a result of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Gulf of Guinea: Shipping

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the security situation for shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa.

Robert Courts: A key flag state responsibility, as required by The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, is assessing risk and advising shipping operators on the threat to maritime interests and setting the most appropriate security level for those threats. The DfT takes this responsibility seriously and constantly assesses high threat areas and monitors other regions as to the current threat environment.The Gulf of Guinea is a high threat area. Piracy, armed robbery, kidnap for ransom and hijack, often violent, continue to threaten shipping in the region. In 2019, DfT raised the ISPS code security level for British shipping in a defined area of Nigeria’s Economic Exclusive Zone to reflect the security threat posed by piracy and armed criminality. This obliges shipping operators to enact higher security measures and follow industry best management practice to protect their ships. DfT works closely with partners in the FCDO and the Ministry of Defence to monitor and continually review the types of incidents occurring and their locations. To date, we still assess that our current security assessment of the risk posed to shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, and our security posture and advice to industry, is appropriate for this high-risk area.

Travel: Coronavirus

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of fake covid-19 passes for international travel.

Robert Courts: The government is working with operators and our international partners to ensure that vaccine certification is legitimate and meets our minimum requirements. Operators conduct upstream checks on all passengers to ensure consistency with the certification minimum dataset, and Border Force officials also check passengers on arrival. Regulators also conduct additional spot checks on arrival to provide an extra layer of assurance.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Databases

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with EU officials on sharing vehicle keepers' details for the purpose of enforcing driving fines.

Trudy Harrison: Officials of the Department for Transport have had no such discussions on this issue with officials of the EU since the UK fully left the EU.While the UK was a member of the EU, the UK electronically provided vehicle keeper data to EU Member States who enquired about vehicles who committed certain traffic offences. This was facilitated under the EU Cross-Border Enforcement Directive (CBE). The UK only used the outbound mechanism of CBE, meaning that we responded to enquiries from Member States, but we never sought to obtain the equivalent information from them about their nationals driving in the UK. Since leaving the EU, the UK is no longer obliged to provide vehicle keeper data to requesting EU Member States through this mechanism.

Birmingham-Shrewsbury Railway Line: Electrification

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits of the electrification of the Shrewsbury-Black Country-Birmingham line.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Midlands Connect prepared a strategic review of options for the Shrewsbury-Black Country-Birmingham line in ‘Rails to Recovery: Building Back Stronger’ which was published in June and included the potential economic benefits of electrification.

Railways: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the Integrated Rail Plan on connectivity between Sheffield (a) Leeds and (b) Manchester.

Andrew Stephenson: In developing the Integrated Rail Pan, Ministers considered the economic impacts of the proposed schemes as well as cost and affordability on the North and Midlands, including Sheffield. By improving regional connectivity, the Integrated Rail Plan will unify labour markets, so that people can access a much wider range of jobs; bring businesses closer together; and improve access to key international gateways and markets so they become even more attractive locations for business investment.The IRP sets out that planned upgrades are being completed on the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield, and connections between Sheffield and Leeds will be further considered as part of the work looking at how best to take HS2 trains to Leeds.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Buildings: Insulation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many properties owners who received cavity wall insulation submitted complaints on the service they received in (a) Wales (b) England (c) Scotland (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 2018.

Greg Hands: The Department does not collect data on complaints about the service households received when having cavity wall insulation installed.

Buildings: Insulation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many properties in (a) Wales (b) England (c) Scotland (d) Northern Ireland, have received cavity wall insulation in each year since 2018.

Greg Hands: Between January 2018 and September 2021, 205,464 CWI measures were installed across Great Britain under ECO and the Green Homes Grant scheme (England only). Table 1 displays the annual CWI installation data for Great Britain and Table 2 displays the regional break down of total ECO measures delivered within the same time period. We are unable to provide measure-specific data by region and there is no available data for Northern Ireland. Table 1:2018201920202021*Total79,92640,82139,55045,167205,464  Table 2:Total GBWalesEnglandScotland1,072,35050,631900,149121,570

Buildings: Insulation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the number of properties in (a) Wales (b) England (c) Scotland (d) Northern Ireland which are eligible for cavity wall insulation.

Greg Hands: The table below sets out the number of properties which had cavity walls and the proportion of those properties which had cavity wall insulation as at December 2020. NationApproximate Properties with Cavity WallsEstimate of Percentage of those Properties with Cavity Wall InsulationGreat Britain20.4 million70%England17.5 million69%Wales0.9 million75%Scotland2.0 million80% This data can be found at Tables 8.7a-d in the following: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2020. We do not hold data for Northern Ireland.

Buildings: Insulation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to protect homeowners when the companies who issue guarantees for cavity wall insulations going into administration.

Greg Hands: The ECO scheme requires installers of cavity wall insulation to provide a warranty to householders when measures are fitted. The Government endorsed quality framework which was launched in October 2018 and overseen by Trustmark ensures an improved and comprehensive consumer protection process, including having sufficient guarantees in place to provide redress for households. In cases where an installer is either no longer trading or has not addressed all relevant concerns, householders should contact the guarantee provider. A full list of the appropriate guarantee providers available can be found at: https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowners/benefits/financial-protection. BEIS officials are exploring what mechanisms are currently in place across each of the guarantee providers to protect consumers in case of insolvency.

Buildings: Insulation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward (a) a review of the cavity wall insulation industry and (b) proposals for reforming the system to better protect homeowners.

Greg Hands: The Government has no plans to commission a review of the Cavity Wall Insulation (CWI) industry or reforming the current system of consumer protection. The Government has implemented the key recommendations of the independent Each Home Counts Review of consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy. This has included the launch of TrustMark as the government endorsed quality mark and the introduction of improved design and installation standards for domestic retrofit (PAS2035:2019 and PAS2030:2019). All cavity wall insulation installed under the Energy Company Obligation, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant and Local Authority Delivery has to be completed by TrustMark registered businesses, adhering to the latest standards.

Renewable Energy: Community Development

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to facilitate community renewable energy generation; what assessment he has made of the potential for the provisions in the Local Electricity Bill to achieve that; and whether he plans to support that Bill.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to achieving its net zero target by 2050 and is supportive of community energy, recognising the valuable role that community and locally owned renewable energy projects can and do, play in supporting our efforts to decarbonise the economy. The Government understands the role of community energy in raising awareness, increasing participation and, promoting the behaviour change necessary if we are to achieve both net-zero and a green recovery. While the Government agrees with the broad intentions of what the Local Electricity Bill seeks to achieve and wants to see more local energy schemes as part of delivering a net-zero energy system, it does not support the Bill as the means to enable local energy supply. The right to local energy supply already exists under the Electricity Act 1989 and Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, has existing flexibility to award supply licences that are restricted to specified geographies and/or specified types of premises. Changing the licensing framework to suit specific business models risks creating wider distortions elsewhere in the energy system, which could increase costs for other consumers and further unintended consequences.

Aquind: Tax Avoidance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 904619 on financial crimes, what related due diligence his Department has undertaken specifically on (a) the proposed Aquind Interconnector Project and (b) its owners, following the publication of the Pandora Papers.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 904619 on financial crimes, what related due diligence his Department has undertaken specifically on (a) the proposed Aquind Interconnector Project and (b) its owners following the publication of the Pandora Papers.

Greg Hands: The Department ensures protection of infrastructure and critical services through a broad range of mitigations, including legislative and regulatory powers. Foreign involvement in critical national infrastructure undergoes the highest levels of scrutiny.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to secure annual covid-19 vaccinations beyond 2021.

George Freeman: The Government has supply agreements to buy 453.5 million doses of vaccines with six separate vaccine developers. The Government recently announced the procurement of a further 54m doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and 60m doses of the Moderna vaccine which will provide supply for 2022 and 2023. This is in addition to the 35m doses of Pfizer/BioNTech already secured for 2022. We are in constant contact with suppliers and remain confident in our prospective vaccine supplies beyond this Winter. As part of these supply agreements, the government will be procuring vaccines for Devolved Administrations and Crown Dependencies up to and including Winter 2024.

Minerals

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government is taking steps to simplify the mineral rights system within the UK.

Greg Hands: Apart from oil, gas, coal, gold and silver, the state does not own mineral rights in the UK. The government does not have any current plans to amend the existing process of securing mineral rights, but also notes that this is a devolved matter, with different regulations in force in Northern Ireland as compared with other parts of the Union. As part of our engagement activity supporting the development of our Critical Minerals Strategy, announced in the Net Zero Strategy, we will seek views from stakeholders on the effects of the current mineral rights system.

Lithium: Manufacturing Industries

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential for domestic production of lithium.

Greg Hands: In May 2020, the British Geological Survey published “The potential for lithium in the UK” as part of its Raw Materials for Decarbonisation series. It summarises previous British Geological Survey activity in the UK, as well as more recent activity by Cornish Lithium Ltd, British Lithium Ltd and the Li4UK project, each of which has received Government support.The report is available here:https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/download/cmp/lithium.pdf. As we set out in our Net Zero Strategy published earlier this year, we will publish a UK Critical Minerals strategy in 2022, and aim to establish an enabling environment for growing the sector in the UK. We are also establishing a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to provide robust, dynamic analysis on stocks and flows to guide our decision-making on critical minerals such as lithium.

Energy Supply

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to restore stability to the energy market and ensure households have access to affordable central heating in winter 2021-22.

Greg Hands: The Government previously committed to review whether reform of the retail market is needed in the future, as we transition to a net zero energy system.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Employment

Allan Dorans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which have been lost as a result of counterfeiting and piracy in the UK in each of the last five years.

George Freeman: In a study published in 2019, the OECD estimate the job losses in the UK that result in the retail and wholesale sector due to counterfeit and pirated imports in 2016 totalled almost 60,000.

Counterfeit Manufacturing

Allan Dorans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made on the impact of counterfeit and pirated goods on the UK economy.

George Freeman: In a study published in 2019 the OECD estimate the total volume of forgone sales for UK wholesalers and retailers due to counterfeit and pirated products smuggled into the UK in 2016 is £9.2 billion.

Fuel Poverty

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households were in fuel poverty by (a) principal local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency in England in each year since 2015; and what equivalent estimate and forecast he has made for (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: BEIS publish Fuel poverty statistics by Local Authority (Table 2) and parliamentary constituency (Table 4) in England, the latest data covers 2019. These are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics#2019-statistics. BEIS also publish Fuel poverty long term trends, covering 2010-2019, under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) and the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicators here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2021. The Government’s projection for the number of households in England that would be in fuel poverty for the year 2021 is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-statistics-projections-2021.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve the take-up of the Warm Homes Discount; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: In the 2021/22 scheme year, all low-income pensioners who are potentially eligible for a rebate under the Core Group will have received a letter from the Government by mid-December and most will receive the rebate automatically. In addition, the Warm Home Discount website is widely signposted and used by consumer groups, charities, and energy comparison websites to maximise uptake. Energy suppliers are responsible for setting their eligibility criteria for Broader Group rebates and providing the rebates to eligible households. Suppliers make their customers aware of the scheme and are usually over-subscribed with applications. This summer, the Government consulted on extending, expanding, and reforming the scheme such that from winter 2022/23 the vast majority of Warm Home Discount rebates would be provided automatically.

Natural Gas: Storage

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to increase the UK’s gas storage capacity.

Greg Hands: Storage plays an important role in providing system flexibility in responding to short-term changes in supply and demand. The purpose of storage is to top-up supply when demand is high.

Natural Gas: Prices

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of entering a collective bargaining agreement with Europe to regulate high gas prices enforced by Norway.

Greg Hands: Norway is a significant, longstanding and reliable gas supplier to the UK with supply based on commercial arrangements between buyers and sellers. Current gas prices are high for many reasons including rebounding global demand as COVID-19 lockdowns ease; greater LNG demand in Asia; upstream maintenance affecting supply capacity over summer, and higher demand for gas in electricity generation on the Continent as coal is disincentivised.

Housing: Energy

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial support is available for homeowners seeking to carry out energy-saving renovations.

Greg Hands: There are a number of schemes in place to make energy efficiency improvements to homes. These include the Home Upgrade Grant, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Sustainable Warmth Competition, and the Energy Company Obligation.

Nuclear Power: Hydrogen

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the role of nuclear energy in hydrogen production through electrolysis of steam; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The Government believes that net zero needs nuclear. Nuclear could have a role in ‘beyond the grid’ applications and welcomes the nuclear industry’s ambition to support low-carbon hydrogen production. As part of the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition in 2019, BEIS funded the ‘Hydrogen to Heysham’ feasibility study, which showed that current nuclear technologies are technically capable of producing low-carbon hydrogen. BEIS is funding a follow-up innovation programme, Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2, and winners will be announced in early 2022.

Hydrogen: Costs

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish proposals on lowering the financing cost of hydrogen production.

Greg Hands: The Government published a consultation in August 2021 on a hydrogen business model to provide revenue support to low carbon hydrogen production plants.

Batteries: Lithium

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government’s assessment of lithium demand will be to meet electric car battery production in the UK by 2030.

Greg Hands: In December 2020, the Faraday Institution published issue 6 of its Faraday Insights series, focused on Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel. It has developed a model that considers the role that differing battery chemistries and mineral intensities may have in overall demand for lithium and other battery materials. The report is available here: https://faraday.ac.uk/get/insight-6/.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to his Department since 1 January 2021.

George Freeman: Since 1 January 2021, Litigation Group has continued to provide litigation services to the majority of government departments, including Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies.

Minimum Wage: Enforcement

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department’s press release, Over 200 employers called out for falling short of paying staff the minimum wage, published on 8 December 2021, how many employers were named and fined; how many people were paid back; and what amount of wages were recovered as a result of unpaid trial shifts at the outset of employment.

Paul Scully: In the latest naming round, 208 employers were named for failing to pay £1.2m to around 12,000 workers. The employers were also ordered to pay nearly £2m in penalties. Unpaid working time, which can include unpaid trial shifts, was a factor in 29% of these cases. Further information is available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1039498/R18_Education_Bulletin_-_salaried_hours_final.pdf. Publicly naming these employers sends a clear message that it is never acceptable to underpay workers and that the minority who do so will not get off lightly. It also acts as an important tool that raises awareness of the rules.

Unpaid Work

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) wages (b) number of hours lost to unpaid work trials at the outset of employment to date in 2021.

Paul Scully: Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or are excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances. If someone has undertaken an illegal unpaid work trial, I would strongly encourage them to complain to HMRC, who enforce the minimum wage. HMRC consider every worker complaint that they receive. It is never acceptable to underpay workers and employers who do so do not get off lightly. Where HMRC finds breaches, they order the employer to repay the workers and pay a penalty to government of up to 200%. Once HMRC has completed its investigation, it refers each case to BEIS for consideration for public naming. The Government named 191 employers on 5th August 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage). This includes employers in the Greater Glasgow area who had breaches involving unpaid work trials.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date the decision was made to sell the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre; and for what reason that decision was made.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where his strategy for vaccine manufacturing and innovation is set out.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timescales for the sale of the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre; and whether that matter is subject to the consideration of the National Security and Investment Bill.

George Freeman: The Government’s strategy for vaccine manufacturing and innovation can be found in the Life Sciences Vision policy paper, published in July 2021. Officials are working closely with the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC) and other third parties to ensure that the UK retains a strong domestic vaccine manufacturing capability to contribute to our response to COVID-19 and resilience to other future health emergencies. At present, these discussions are commercially sensitive. The National Security and Investment Act 2021, which comes into force fully on 4 January, gives the Secretary of State powers to intervene in acquisitions of control of certain entities and assets that have given rise to or may give rise to a risk to national security. In addition, the Enterprise Act 2002 was amended in 2020 to allow the Secretary of State to intervene in mergers and takeovers on the public interest grounds of maintaining in the United Kingdom the capability to combat, and to mitigate the effects of, public health emergencies.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where the additional vaccine supply for the extension of the covid-19 booster programme to younger cohorts will come from.

George Freeman: We have already secured the doses we need for everyone in the UK who requires a booster this Winter, but, like every responsible government, we continue to plan for all possible future scenarios. The UK is proactively managing our vaccine supply and we are in regular contact with the vaccine manufacturers.

Attorney General

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what advice she provided to Government colleagues regarding the compliance of their Departments with measures under the (a) 5 November – 2 December 2020 national lockdown; and (b) the 2 December 2020 – 4 January 2021 tiered covid regulations during the period of those restrictions.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether she has (a) been asked to provide or (b) provided advice to Government colleagues since 1 December 2021 regarding the compliance of their Departments' with measures under the (a) 5 November – 2 December 2020 national lockdown; and (b) the 2 December 2020 – 4 January 2021 tiered covid regulations.

Alex Chalk: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. The Convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal adviser to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doses of covid-19 vaccines have been destroyed in the UK in each of the last 12 months as a result of (a) passing their expiration date or (b) any other reasons.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the average length of delay in updating covid-19 vaccination records in cases where vaccinations have not been properly documented as a result of computer error.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS Test and Trace: Telephone Services

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is aware of problems with the 119 helpline to resolve covid-19 vaccine data inaccuracies; and what steps he is taking to help people whose data is incorrect.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead dated 12 August 2021, case number MP 71131 on NHS Staffing Levels.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of eligible adults have received their covid-19 booster vaccination in (a) England, (b) West Sussex and (c) Bognor Regis as of 9 December 2021.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2021 to Question 80898 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what proportion of 12 to 15 year olds have had their covid-19 vaccination in (a) Arun District Council area, (b) Bognor Regis, (c) West Sussex and (d) England as of 9 December 2021.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ambulance Services: Greater London

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of ambulance waiting times in (a) London and (b) Hendon constituency.

Edward Argar: The following table shows ambulance waiting times in London in November 2021 in hours, minutes and seconds for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 incidents. Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 400:07:0600:43:4001:50:1903:39:03 Source: NHS Ambulance Quality Indicators Ambulance waiting times in Hendon constituency are not held centrally and no such assessment has been made.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what way the HIV Action Plan will help ensure that people living with HIV get the support they need.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body at a local level will be responsible for funding HIV support services in England.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether additional funding is being put in place for local authorities, including public health funding, to deliver the HIV Action Plan.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when vaccines administered overseas may be recorded via a method that shows that status in the NHS App; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Care Homes: Visits

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor care homes' compliance with Government guidance on facilitating visits during the covid-19 outbreak.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of transmission of covid-19 being able to occur between people who have been vaccinated, for what reason the Government is introducing the NHS vaccine pass.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will specifically encourage people to take a covid-19 test ahead of seeing family over the Christmas period.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2021 to Question 80898 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what steps he is taking to help ensure a higher uptake of vaccinations among the 12 to 15 age group.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 restrictions on certification announced on 8 December 2021, what advice he plans to give to people who were vaccinated against covid-19 in Scotland and cannot display their vaccine status on the NHS England App.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Disease Control

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what way the HIV Action Plan will help tackle health inequalities and end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for covid-19 nasal vaccines being introduced as part of the NHS vaccination programme.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Travel: Coronavirus

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement measures to ensure convalescent covid-19 positive travellers are not disadvantaged by the Government's covid-19 travel testing requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 restrictions on certification announced on 8 December 2021, what advice his Department is giving to people who have taken part in covid-19 vaccine trials and cannot have their data accurately reflected on the NHS App.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will he make it his policy to not make vaccines mandatory due to the effect on trust between a clinician and their patient.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Macular Degeneration: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times for patients awaiting treatment for (a) wet and (b) dry age-related macular degeneration in eye clinics in England.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting times are for patients with appointments for the treatment of (a) wet and (b) dry age-related macular degeneration in eye clinics in England.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on waiting times for patients with appointments for the treatment of (a) wet and (b) dry age-related macular degeneration in eye clinics in England.

Maria Caulfield: No such assessment has been made. Information on the waiting times for treatment for patients with macular degeneration in eye care clinics in England is not available in the format requested. Data is collected for the treatment of all eye care but does not record the treatment of specific conditions.

Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People Independent Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the consultation period is for The Cass Review; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to publish all responses received to The Cass Review.

Maria Caulfield: The Cass Review is independent of the Government and will determine the timetable and policy for its consultation process. The Review has announced that it will publish more details on how people can participate shortly at the following link:https://cass.independent-review.uk/contribute-to-the-review/

Mechanical Thrombectomy: Finance

Sir Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what modelling his Department has undertaken to estimate the capital investment required to (a) bring thrombectomy centres up to providing 24/7 provision and (b) establish thrombectomy centres in those areas that currently do not have them; and if he will publish that modelling.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not undertaken any specific modelling regarding thrombectomy centres. These centres are not part of any central capital investment programmes. However, thrombectomy centres may be an area of prioritisation for local investment plans and therefore form part of a larger capital development scheme.

Mechanical Thrombectomy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the number of centres which perform thrombectomy treatment.

Maria Caulfield: Thrombectomy is available in 24 centres in England. There are two non-neuroscience centres currently under development to provide access to thrombectomy.The National Health Service is committed to increase the delivery of mechanical thrombectomy to 10% of patients. The latest data shows that 2.3% of patients are receiving a thrombectomy following a stroke. In early 2022, NHS England will undertake a quality review with each region to understand and resolve the biggest local barriers to increasing this rate.

Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the launch of community diagnostic centres across England, what further steps he plans to take to undertake health checks across the community for the purposes of (a) enabling a preventative and social approach to health care and (b) reducing pressure on GPs.

Edward Argar: The majority of NHS Health Checks are carried out in general practitioner (GP) surgeries and local pharmacies. Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are designed to provide elective diagnostics services, rather than NHS health checks. CDCs will provide patients with accessible diagnostic testing in imaging, pathology, cardiorespiratory, physiological measurements and endoscopy. GPs will be able to refer patients to a centre to access these tests closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, rather than travelling to hospital. Regions are working with local trusts and systems, diagnostic networks and primary care services to determine the location and configuration of services, based on the needs of the local population.

Opiates: County Durham

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many opioid prescriptions were handed out in County Durham in the year to August 2021.

Edward Argar: The NHS Business Services Authority’s data shows that 543,296 prescription items for opioid analgesics were prescribed and subsequently dispensed in a community setting in County Durham between September 2020 and August 2021. The data is based on items prescribed by Durham County Council, County Durham Clinical Commissioning Group and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Medical Treatments

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure patients giving consent to having bodily implants are fully informed of the health risks caused by implanted materials, with particular reference to (a) autoimmune disease and (b) fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients are fully informed about the risks of procedures involving implanted materials and provide fully informed consent to those procedures.

Edward Argar: The General Medical Council’s revised guidance ‘Decision making and consent’ came into effect in November 2020. The guidance specifies that doctors must give patients the information, time and support needed to make an informed decision about their treatment.As part of its consultation on the reform of medical device regulation in the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently considering what information should be provided to the patient at the point of consent and on receipt of the implant. The new regulatory approach is not yet finalised but the information considered includes warnings, precautions or measures to be taken by the patient or a healthcare professional and a caution that risk may emerge during use of an implantable device, including, where appropriate, on autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. More information on the outcome of the consultation is expected to be published in early 2022.The Department is putting in place mechanisms to ensure that the patient voice is routinely heard. This includes the creation of a statutory role of the Patient Safety Commissioner.

Down's Syndrome: Health Services

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that relevant health authorities take account of the specific needs of people with Down Syndrome.

Gillian Keegan: The Government is supporting the Down Syndrome Bill which would place a new duty on the Secretary of State to issue guidance in England to certain health, social care, housing and education authorities on meeting the specific needs of people with Down(‘s) syndrome. The Bill would also create a new duty on the relevant authorities to have due regard to the guidance.

Coronavirus: Mental Health

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to tackle long-term mental ill-health resulting from covid-19 lockdowns.

Gillian Keegan: Mental health services have continued to provide support throughout the pandemic. Community, adult talking therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital tools to provide ongoing support. We have also published the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, supported by an additional £500 million in 2021/22. Of this funding, £110 million will be invested in expanding adult mental health services. This includes providing talking and psychological therapies, implementing the community mental health framework, investing in crisis services and maintaining the delivery of urgent mental health helplines. We are also allocating £79 million for children and young people’s mental health services. A further £2.3 billion a year will be invested in mental health services until 2023/24 to enable an extra two million people to access National Health Service mental health support.

Health Services: Children and Young People

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the adequacy of the provision of therapeutic support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and (b) the impact of any gaps in that provision on the education of young people.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health services, including therapies to disabled children. On 5 March 2021 we announced that as part of the £500 million for mental health recovery, £79 million will be used to expand mental health services for children, including disabled children. We have provided over £34 billion support for health services in response to COVID-19 in 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to tackle the elective backlog and reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children. We have also invested £4.9 billion in the 2020/21 academic year to support the recovery of children and young people’s education.

Coronavirus: Mental Health

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of covid-19 lockdowns on the diagnoses of (a) behavioural and (c) mental health issues in school age children.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made, as data on diagnosis rates is not collected in the format requested. While data on autism diagnosis waiting times is collected through the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS), children and young people are currently largely out of scope. The MHSDS shows that referrals to children and young people's mental health services in April 2020 had decreased by 42.4% from February 2020. By July 2020, referrals returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, this data shows the number of referrals and not diagnoses.

Down's Syndrome

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that relevant health, education and local authorities take account of the specific needs of people with Down Syndrome.

Gillian Keegan: The Government is supporting the Down Syndrome Bill which would place a new duty on the Secretary of State to issue guidance in England to certain health, social care, housing and education authorities on meeting the specific needs of people with Down(‘s) syndrome. The Bill would also create a new duty on the relevant authorities to have due regard to the guidance.

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: Equality

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on healthcare of the appointment of a Director of Equality and Inclusion at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Edward Argar: To ensure the best patient outcomes and experience for staff, it is important that employers foster a culture of belonging in the National Health Service and tackle the discrimination that some staff face.Senior and executive leaders must be accountable for developing and delivering plans to eliminate inequality in their organisations. NHS organisations are best placed to determine how they address those challenges, including who they employ to support them in doing so.

Protective Clothing: Coronavirus

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the allocated expenditure is for the rental of shipping containers by the Government or its agents to store unused personal protective equipment for the 2021-22 financial year.

Edward Argar: This information is not held in the format requested. However, by the end of November 2021, £300.7 million had been spent on the storage of personal protective equipment. This includes the rental of shipping containers and storage space in the United Kingdom and overseas.

NHS: Overtime

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of frontline NHS staff opting (a) to not work overtime and (b) to reduce the number of overtime hours worked as a result to the potential impact that overtime pay might have on their eligibility for the High-Income Child Benefit Tax Charge and level of household income.

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of exempting healthcare workers who have reached the income threshold for the High-Income Child Benefit Tax Charge as a result of working additional hours during the covid-19 outbreak from that charge; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of such an exemption on staffing levels in winter 2021-22.

Edward Argar: No assessment has been made. Data on the number of staff not working overtime or reducing their overtime hours is not held centrally.We have had no specific discussions with HM Treasury and no assessment of the potential impact of an exemption on staffing levels in winter 2021/22.

Health Services: Redbridge

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect of pressures caused by the covid-19 outbreak on NHS staff retention in (a) Ilford North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Redbridge.

Edward Argar: Leaver rates for National Health Service trusts within Ilford North and Redbridge are broadly consistent with pre-pandemic levels. Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust had a leaver rate of 12% in August 2019, compared to 12.4% in August 2021. Barts Health NHS Trust had a leaver rate of 13.1% in August 2019, compared to 12.7% in August 2021. These figures include people who have left the Trust and moved to other jobs within the NHS.The NHS People Plan includes a retention package for all staff to promote and prioritise wellbeing and improve the NHS as a place to work. In addition, the NHS People Recovery Task Force and the NHS Retention Programme are working to ensure staff feel supported to stay within the NHS.

Surgery

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2021 to Question 85192 on Hospitals: Waiting Lists, and in the context of the additional funding for the NHS on tackling hospital waiting times announced by the Prime Minister, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of additional elective surgical procedures by speciality that the NHS will have the capacity to carry out in each of the next three years.

Edward Argar: No formal assessment has been made. It is not yet known what the demand for specialties will be over the next three years. The additional funding provided to the National Health Service for elective recovery for the next three years aims to increase activity to 30% above pre-pandemic levels.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require school-age contacts of Omicron variant cases to self-isolate.

Maggie Throup: Individuals notified by NHS Test and Trace or a public health official that they are a close contact of someone confirmed or suspected to have the COVID-19 Omicron variant are legally required to self-isolate, regardless of their age, or vaccination status or negative test result. This change came into force on 30 November 2021.

Viral Diseases: Disease Control

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for a future pandemic caused by non-flu and non-coronavirus family viruses.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the new public health body focused on health protection and security, became fully operational on 1 October 2021 and includes the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP). Working with the CPP, the UKHSA will focus on protection from all future health threats, including pandemics, building on the enhanced capabilities deployed to tackle COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks. The UKHSA and the CPP will work across Government through the newly established Pandemic Diseases Capability Board to identify critical capabilities across the United Kingdom for pandemic disease preparedness which should be maintained, developed or initiated.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that prophylactic use of synthetic monoclonal antibody treatments are available where immunosuppressed patients are not able to suspend their immunosuppressant medication or have not responded to a third primary covid-19 vaccine dose.

Maggie Throup: Ronapreve (casirivimab and imdevimab) is the first neutralising monoclonal antibody to receive marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to treat and prevent COVID-19. The interim clinical policy was updated on 4 November to expand treatment access to a wider group of hospitalised patients, which may include immunocompromised patients. The current supply of Ronapreve is limited globally and the clinical policy prioritises the most vulnerable patients for whom this treatment will have the largest beneficial impact.The RAPID C-19 collaboration has enabled active multi-agency oversight of national and international trial evidence as it emerges for COVID-19 therapies, both in potential treatment and prophylactic indications. Where material evidence is identified, this has enabled the rapid formation and implementation of United Kingdom wide clinical access policies. To date, the evidence has most strongly supported treatment indications, but the evidence around prophylactic use will continue to be actively reviewed.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the sale of the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre.

Maggie Throup: The Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have regular discussions with officials in the Vaccines Taskforce. The Vaccines Taskforce is working with the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre to ensure the United Kingdom retains a strong domestic vaccine manufacturing capability to ensure resilience against COVID-19 and other future health emergencies.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prioritise those under 40 who were vaccinated for covid-19 as part of group 6 previously part of the booster roll out programme; when he expects 16-17 years old in group 6 to be (a) eligible and (b) prioritised for a booster, including chronic asthmatics; what assurances his Department plans to provide those groups; and if his Department will use the flu jab list as a basis for identifying those who need to be prioritised for covid-19 booster vaccinations.

Maggie Throup: On 29 November 2021 the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to accelerate the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme. All adults over 18 years old are now eligible for a booster dose, which will be given no sooner than three months after completion of the primary course.The flu clinical risk groups were initially considered as a potential way to identify and prioritise individuals at risk of COVID-19. However, when evaluating the data, the JCVI found that, although there was some overlap between the influenza clinical risk groups and those at high risk of severe COVID-19, there were some differences.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to bring forward covid-19 vaccine booster jabs for people who were participants in the AstraZeneca vaccine trials last year.

Maggie Throup: On 29 November 2021, we announced updated advice that all individuals aged 18 years old and over will be eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination. This includes participants in the AstraZeneca vaccine trials. Trial participants for a COVID-19 vaccine which has since been approved, such as AstraZeneca, can access a booster dose from any vaccine centre when invited to do so.

Coronavirus: Probiotics

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the conclusions the Therapeutic Taskforce’s expert group on prophylaxis made after assessing the evidence of the benefits and risks of probiotic supplementation for covid-19 patients.

Maggie Throup: The Department established the COVID-19 Prophylaxis Oversight Group (POG) in July 2020, to guide development of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 infection. The POG has not yet undertaken a review of these supplements but is aware of studies into the use of probiotics. The POG will continue to monitor the research.

Coronavirus: Ronapreve

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the B.1.1.529 covid-19 variant on the (a) efficacy of Ronapreve and (b) efficacy of Ronapreve in immunocompromised people.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency have noted that B.1.1.529, or Omicron, could potentially have an impact on neutralising monoclonal antibody treatments. However, there is currently no confirmed evidence of reduced efficacy.Regeneron is evaluating Ronapreve against the Omicron variant. Preliminary analyses from the company suggest that the antibodies in the cocktail may have the potential to retain activity against the Omicron variant, as well as the other existing variants of concern. Further in vitro data is expected over the next month.On 17 September, Ronapreve was made available to treat the most vulnerable hospital patients in the United Kingdom through an interim clinical policy. This treatment will continue to be available this winter for hospitalised patients.There will be ongoing monitoring (involving sample collection) of selected patients treated with nMABs (led by UK Health Security Agency). This will include monitoring the efficacy of the treatments against variants. The Therapeutics and Antivirals Taskforce will also keep the evidence under review, including how this could affect immunocompromised patients.

General Practitioners: Ilford North

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the ratio of GPs to patients has been in Ilford North constituency in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The data is not held in the format requested, as general practice workforce data is not collected at constituency level.

Blood: Donors

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the closures of all Plasma Donation Facilities in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council on the number of blood plasma donations.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the closures of all Plasma Donation Facilities in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council on (a) unemployment and (b) regional health disparities.

Maria Caulfield: The Department, NHS Blood and Transplant and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to create a long-term domestic supply of plasma in England, which can be used to manufacture immunoglobulins. The Government agreed temporary funding for plasma donation using part of the infrastructure originally established for the COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Programme. In light of the important wider opportunity to develop the supply of immunoglobulins in the United Kingdom, the Government has now directed NHS Blood and Transplant to retain three of its plasma donation centres on a permanent basis. This is based on balancing affordability with the benefits of sustaining significant domestic plasma supply.NHS Blood and Transplant will continue to collect plasma at Birmingham, Reading and Twickenham and from recovered plasma from whole blood donations collected across England. NHS Blood and Transplant is supporting the affected staff at its Barnsley centre to find alternative employment.

Wales Office

Birds: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the health of birds in Wales following the discovery of bird flu in Northern Ireland.

Simon Hart: This is a devolved matter, however, the UK Government works with the devolved administrations to seek a coordinated response wherever possible to control disease. In November, the Chief Veterinary Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland worked together to bring in an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across Great Britain on 3 November 2021, and in Northern Ireland on 17 November 2021, with additional housing measures coming into force across the UK on 29 November 2021. These measures were introduced to protect poultry and captive birds from avian influenza following a number of confirmed cases across Great Britain and means it a legal requirement for all bird keepers across the UK (whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to keep their birds indoors and follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of avian influenza. All four administrations are an integral part of the UK-wide decision-making processes. All attend the Defra Group’s National Disease Control Centre meetings, are members of the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG) and participate in daily stocktakes to review on-going disease control strategy. Decisions on disease control measures, made through these groups, are based on risk assessments containing the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice. The risk of incursion of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 in wild birds is currently assessed as very high for England and high for Wales and Scotland for wild birds. The risk of poultry exposure to HPAI H5 across Great Britain is currently assessed as medium where good biosecurity is applied at poultry premises, but high where there are substantial biosecurity breaches and poor biosecurity. If, however, stringent biosecurity is in place at poultry premises the risk would be low for these premises. All bird keepers are encouraged to maintain high standards of biosecurity as good practice for the health of their birds, and that good biosecurity is an essential defence against diseases such as avian influenza and is key to limiting the spread of avian influenza in any potential outbreak.

Department for Education

Scholarships: Afghanistan

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has provided to support the 300 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships for Afghan nationals at UK universities under Operation Warm Welcome; and how many of those scholarships have been awarded.

Michelle Donelan: A significant cross-government effort is under way, dubbed ‘Operation Warm Welcome’, to ensure Afghans arriving in the UK receive the vital support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into their local communities.As part of Operation Warm Welcome, it was announced there would be further funding for up to 300 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships for Afghans at UK universities. The department will update with further details of this programme in due course.

16-19 Bursary Fund: Houghton and Sunderland South

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of young people in the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South are in receipt of the 16-19 Bursary, and whether that proportion has increased since 2010.

Alex Burghart: The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (such as travel, books, equipment, and trips), and support for childcare and residential costs where required.16 to 19 Bursary funding is designed to help students overcome the individual financial barriers to participation that they face, and institutions must ensure the funds go to those who genuinely need them. The funding is allocated to individual education institutions for them to allocate to students.The administration of the bursary fund is devolved to individual colleges, schools and other providers who are best placed to understand and support the needs of their students. We do not hold the information requested.

Secondary Education: Vocational Guidance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of provision of work experience and careers advice in secondary education in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield, and (c) England.

Alex Burghart: The department recognises that activities involving employers, such as careers insights, mentoring, work tasters and work experience, provide opportunities that are essential for young people to test out different careers, improve their skills and show their commitment and enthusiasm.Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, we continue to support schools and colleges to provide young people with access to meaningful experiences of the workplace, and the evidence suggests this is working. Careers Hubs are accelerating improvements in careers education and guidance, in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks, which together define what good career guidance looks like. Schools and colleges that have been part of Careers Hubs for the longest achieved 4.8 Gatsby Benchmarks on average, compared with 3.8 for schools and colleges not in a Careers Hub. More than 2,260 (45%) of schools and colleges are part of a Careers Hub.In September 2021, four Careers Hubs were launched across London to support over 300 schools and colleges across the capital to give young Londoners a head start in finding their next best steps and planning their futures. We know nine schools and colleges across the Borough of Enfield are part of a Careers Hub this year and six of these are in the Enfield North constituency.

Apprentices: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) Greater London.

Alex Burghart: Apprenticeships provide people with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start an exciting career in a wide range of industries, and we want more people to benefit from high-quality apprenticeships. Since May 2010, there have been 6,900 apprenticeship starts in Enfield North constituency, 18,730 in the London Borough of Enfield and 462,650 in London.Funding for apprenticeships in England will grow to £2.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year to support apprenticeships in all employers, including employers that do not pay the levy who will continue to be able to reserve funding for 95% of apprenticeship training and assessment costs.We are supporting employers to offer new apprenticeship opportunities by extending the higher incentive payment of £3,000 for every new apprentice hired between 1 October 2021 and 31 January 2022, as part of the government's Plan for Jobs. We have seen over 125,000 incentive payments claimed by employers so far (as of 10 November 2021). We also continue to improve apprenticeships by making them more flexible for employers, and by making it easier for employers to make full use of their levy funds.To encourage more young people to consider apprenticeships, we are promoting apprenticeships at schools in Enfield and London through our Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme. This free service providers resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeships.

Further Education: Qualifications

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the qualifications to have funding removed under the level 3 qualification review; and if he will include in publication the criteria used to identify them.

Alex Burghart: The government recently announced that there will be an extra year before changes from the post-16 review of level 3 qualifications are implemented. We still plan to publish the final list of qualifications that will be defunded because they overlap with waves 1 and 2 T Levels by summer 2022, with a provisional list and accompanying criteria being published in the New Year.The additional year means that we will remove 16-19 funding approval for qualifications that overlap with wave 1 and 2 T Levels from the 2024/25 academic year, and from wave 3 and 4 T Levels from the 2025/26 academic year.The full range of qualifications that will be approved for funding in future will depend on the outcome of the new approvals process. Qualifications will need to demonstrate their necessity and meet new quality standards. These standards are currently in development and will be published in 2022.

Further Education

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the outcome of the Post-16 study at level 2 and below consultation will be published.

Alex Burghart: On 10 November 2020, the department published a call for evidence on post-16 study and qualifications at level 2 and below, setting out our ambitions and inviting views on what is working well, and what more can be done to support people studying at these levels to realise their potential. The call for evidence closed on 14 February 2021.This was the first step towards reform, allowing us to gather evidence from the education sector, industry and students. The next step will be to consult on detailed proposals. We anticipate publishing the consultation in early 2022.

Schools: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been supported by the School Rebuilding Programme in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield since June 2020.

Mr Robin Walker: Earlier this year, the department announced the first 100 schools in the new School Rebuilding Programme, as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme/school-rebuilding-programme. There are no schools from the Enfield North constituency or the London Borough of Enfield in the programme. Two schools in the Enfield North constituency and a further two in the London Borough of Enfield have been rebuilt under the Priority School Building Programme.The department will publish details of how schools will be prioritised for future places in the programme following a review of the results from our recent consultation, which closed on 8 October 2021.

National Tutoring Programme

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Tuition Partners pillar of the National Tutoring Programme, how many pupils have (a) been enrolled against the target of 524,000 for 2021-22 and (b) had at least one tutoring session as of 8 December 2021; how many schools have booked in tutoring; and whether those figures are above, below or on target for this point in the academic year.

Mr Robin Walker: National Tutoring Programme participation data for last year has not yet been published.We continue to collect data from schools for all three strands of the programme in the current year and will be publishing this in due course. This covers School-Led Tutoring, Tuition Partners and Academic Mentors.The National Tutoring Programme aims to engage up to 2 million pupils this year, and to deliver up to 90 million packages of tuition by the 2024/25 academic year.

Pupils: Internet

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to schools to ensure pupils are protected and kept safe in online spaces; and if he will make a statement.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional guidance will be issued to supplement the existing guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education to help schools ensure pupils are kept safe online.

Mr Robin Walker: This government is committed to keeping children safe both online and offline. All schools and colleges must have regard to the department's statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.This guidance provides schools and colleges with information on what they should be doing to protect pupils and students online.The guidance is very clear on the actions a school or college should take if there are any concerns about a child’s wellbeing and/or safety. KCSIE, amongst other things, sets out that:Appropriate filters and monitoring systems should be in place to protect children when they are online using school or college IT systems. Schools and colleges should have a clear policy on the use of mobile technology which reflects that many children have unrestricted access to the internet via smart devices.KCSIE also provides school and college staff with information about different types of abuse and harm, including online abuse. In addition, the department has published guidance on teaching online safety in schools and, through relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE), children will be taught about rules and principles for keeping safe online.The statutory RSHE curriculum was introduced in September 2020. In these subjects, pupils are taught about online relationships, implications of sharing private or personal data online (including images), harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, an over-reliance on social media, how to be a discerning consumer of information and where to get help and support for issues that occur online.Where it is required, schools are also expected to offer remote education to pupils who test positive for COVID-19 or present with COVID-19 symptoms where they are well enough to learn from home. There is a wide range of resources available to support schools and colleges to meet these expectations. The ‘Get Help with Remote Education’ page on gov.uk provides a one-stop-shop for teachers and leaders, signposting to support available. This includes a self-assessment framework to help schools and colleges understand where they are with their remote education provision, help to access technology that supports remote education, peer-to-peer training and guidance on how to use technology effectively and resources, and school-led webinars to support effective delivery of the curriculum.

Schools: Ventilation

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 86209 on Schools: Ventilation, for what reason only 1000 air cleaning units are being funded for poorly ventilated teaching spaces and staff rooms; and what assessment he has made of the ability of schools that do not qualify for that funding to afford such units.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2021 to Question 86209 on Schools: Ventilation, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of air cleaning units needed for poorly ventilated teaching spaces and staff rooms in all state educational settings in England.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing air filtration devices to schools to reduce the risk of airborne transmission of covid-19.

Mr Robin Walker: ​If used properly, air cleaning units can help reduce airborne contaminants in a poorly ventilated space while remedial work is undertaken to permanently improve ventilation. However, it is important to note that air cleaning units cannot improve ventilation, and they should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation or not to remediate poor ventilation in a space.The department is providing additional, exceptional funding for air cleaning units for poorly ventilated spaces in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision schools and colleges, including SEND units in mainstream schools and colleges, where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible. These settings are being prioritised, given the higher than average number of vulnerable pupils attending them. The purchase of 1,000 air cleaning units reflects our assessment of need in the sector based on recent feedback from SEND and alternative provider schools and colleges.Schools and colleges that are not eligible for a department-funded unit will have access to an online ‘marketplace’, which provides a route to purchasing air cleaning units of a suitable specification and competitive price. However, we expect that in most classrooms existing ventilation will be sufficient.Maintaining adequate ventilation ultimately remains the responsibility of individual schools and colleges. It is for them to decide on the use of affected rooms in accordance with their risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law.Schools and colleges are expected to plan and prioritise any necessary remedial works within existing budgets. For more substantial capital works, schools, colleges and those responsible for buildings have access to funding to improve the condition of buildings through different routes depending on their size and type.The case for additional support for schools and colleges to maintain good ventilation will be kept under review as the programme continues, and as settings use the monitors to further assess their ventilation needs.

National Tutoring Programme: Randstad

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has carried out a review of the procurement process that led to Randstad being awarded the contract to run the National Tutoring Programme; and what plans he has to improve his Department’s oversight of Randstad’s delivery of that contract.

Mr Robin Walker: The National Tutoring Programme is on track to reach hundreds of thousands more pupils this year, as part of a significant expansion to give schools more flexibility to deliver tutoring that works for them and families, and ensure no child is left behind.We have set high standards for the programme and feedback from schools shows the positive impact it is having in helping pupils to catch up.Randstad Education was awarded the contract to run the Tutoring Partner and Academic Mentors element of the National Tutoring Programme for the 2021/22 academic year, following an open competition in line with government procurement regulations.We are working closely with Randstad to build on the successes of year 1. The delivery and performance of the National Tutoring Programme is monitored closely through a comprehensive governance process.

Ministry of Justice

Offenders: Employment

Jerome Mayhew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support offenders in gaining employment following their release from prison.

Kit Malthouse: The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our ambition to deliver a step-change in the number of prisoners who work in prison, on temporary licence, and secure employment on release. We will open our doors to the private sector to overhaul the opportunities for work offered in prisons and on Release on Temporary Licence. We will implement dedicated Employment Advisors in prisons and develop a digital tool that will match prisoners to jobs on release. We will establish more local employment boards to link prisons with business networks. The Secretary of State recently hosted an employment summit, attended by over 600 organisations, at which he set out this department’s commitment to improving employment rates for prison leavers and also establish ‘Employment Hubs’, the equivalent of a ‘jobcentre in a prison’ where prisoners can find out about job opportunities.

Administration of Justice: Males

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the outcomes of BAME men in the criminal justice system.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which BAME people are over-represented in the prison system.

Kit Malthouse: Disparities in the number of minority ethnic men, as well as women and young people, in the justice system is monitored and the data, including analysis of relative differences between groups, creates a detailed picture of where over-representation occurs. A comprehensive assessment of the ethnic population across the criminal justice system, including in prisons, published on 2 December, can be found in the Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice system. This now includes data-sharing on the educational background of offenders, broken down by ethnicity. The Youth Justice Board’s report Understanding Racial Disparity was also published on 2 December. Operational agencies covering criminal justice undertake their own analysis and develop measures to address differences where they cannot be explained or justified by other factors, such as offence type or geography. Detailed accounts of the steps being taken to improve the outcomes of Ethnic Minority men in the criminal justice system can be found in the published updates Tackling Racial Disparity 2018 and 2020.

Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government has plans to commence a stand-alone Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission.

James Cartlidge: We remain committed to looking at the broader aspects of the constitution and the relationship between Government, Parliament and the courts, as pledged in the Government’s Manifesto. Given the broad nature of these areas, we are taking the work forward via a range of workstreams rather than a single Commission to ensure all policy development is given the utmost consideration. For example, following the Independent Review of Administrative law and a Government consultation, the Judicial Review and Courts Bill delivers on our manifesto commitment to improve judicial review processes. The Government also established the Independent Human Rights Act Review in December 2020 to examine the framework of the HRA, how it is operating in practice and whether any change is required. We have published the Panel’s report today and carefully considered its conclusions as part of a wider reform programme. Today the Justice Secretary launched a consultation to seek views on the government’s proposals to reform the Human Rights Act. This will ensure the domestic human rights framework meets the needs of the society it serves and commands public confidence.

Prisons: Education and Rehabilitation

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking expand educational rehabilitation programmes in prisons.

Victoria Atkins: As detailed in the Prisons Strategy White Paper published on 7th December, we are creating a Prisoner Education Service that will ensure prisoners improve skills such as literacy and numeracy, acquire relevant vocational qualifications, and access employment opportunities on release. This will be funded as part of our £200m a year investment by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment support and substance misuse treatment and further measures for early intervention to tackle youth offending. To improve outcomes, we are introducing new performance measures to track attendance and progress in English and maths; developing a new literacy strategy, introducing new roles to support prisoners with learning difficulties and disabilities and investing in digital infrastructure to deliver learning. We are also boosting our engagement with employers to understand the skills they need to plug labour market gaps and plan to launch a new fund to support innovation and training next year.

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the 46 legal exercises analysed in his Department's report Ad-Hoc Analysis of Judicial Diversity Statistics 2021, published on 9 December 2021, what the success rates were for (a) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and (b) White candidates at the paper sift stage for exercises carried out (i) before and (ii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the 46 legal exercises analysed in his Department's report Ad-Hoc Analysis of Judicial Diversity Statistics 2021, published on 9 December 2021, how many (a) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and (b) White candidates were considered at the paper sift stage for exercises carried out (i) before and (ii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's report Ad-Hoc Analysis of Judicial Diversity Statistics 2021 published on 9 December 2021, when name-blind marking was introduced for online scenario tests completed by candidates for legal recruitment exercises.

James Cartlidge: The proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates passing the paper sift stage for legal exercises carried out in the period 2015-2021:i) before the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020 was 30%; andii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020 was 26%. The proportion of White candidates passing the paper sift stage for legal exercises carried out in the period 2015-2021:i) before the introduction of name-blind assessment in 2020 was 51%; andii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments was 50%. The number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates considered at the paper sift stage for legal exercises carried out in the period 2015 – 2021:i) before the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020 was 782; andii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020 was 39. The number of White candidates considered at the paper sift stage for legal exercises carried out in the period 2015 -2021:i) before the introduction of name-bling assessments in 2020 was 3,248; andii) after the introduction of name-blind assessments in 2020 was 124.Where an online scenario test was used as a shortlisting tool, name-blind marking was used in every instance, in all relevant exercises covered in the ‘deep dive’ statistical report.

Ministry of Justice: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to his Department since 1 January 2021.

James Cartlidge: Since 1 January 2021, Litigation Group has continued to provide litigation services to the majority of government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies. The Group’s work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries and acting in Inquests. This has involved, amongst other things, attending in a wide range of courts, including Coroners’ Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court. Our Employment and Commercial Groups similarly provide litigation services to the majority of government departments and have done so in the period in question.

Treasury

Non-domestic Rates

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the changes in total rateable values were between the 2010 and 2017 rating lists (a) in total, (b) for retail, (c) for office and (d) for warehouse, industrial and factory properties in (i) each standard English region and (ii) England as a whole.

Lucy Frazer: Data showing changes in the rateable values of non-domestic business properties by region, billing authority, and sector, resulting from work carried out for Revaluation 2017, is available here: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2017-revaluation.

Non-domestic Rates

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of at what percentage of turnover the estimated receipts to the Exchequer for an Online Sales Tax would equal the total business rates payable on retail property.

Lucy Frazer: At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government announced that it will continue to explore the arguments for and against an Online Sales Tax, the revenue from which would be used to provide business rates relief for in-store retail. The consultation will launch in the new year. If the Government decides to proceed with such a tax, it will assess any effects on the public finances, including business rates, once the final policy decisions have been reached.

Non-domestic Rates

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the percentage changes in the rateable values between 1 April 2015 and 1 April 2021 on average for the same (a) warehouse, industrial and factory, (b) office, (c) retail, (d) hospitality and (e) leisure properties on both of those dates in England.

Lucy Frazer: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is currently collecting information and assessing valuations for the 2023 Rating List. As this work is ongoing, the VOA does not yet hold estimates on the percentage changes in rateable values. Once the revaluation exercise is complete, a draft Rating List will be published. This is expected to be published in late 2022.

Medical Treatments: Cost Effectiveness

Chris Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Green Book recommended discount rate of 1.5 per cent per annum for policies that impact health or life outcomes, if he will have discussions with NICE on reducing the discount rate of 3.5 per cent that it applied in its recent Methods Review consultation.

Mr Simon Clarke: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s independent review into its methods is currently live. NICE is an independent body, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Review in due course.

Housing: Insulation

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to allocate funding to the Welsh Government to tackle unsafe cladding in residential properties.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Welsh Government is receiving an average of £2.5 billion per year through the Barnett formula on top of its £15.9 billion annual baseline over the Spending Review 2021 period. This is the largest annual block grant, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution acts in 1998. This settlement includes Barnett consequentials on changes in the overall level of funding provided to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which is responsible for cladding remediation in England. It is for the Welsh Government to allocate this funding as it sees fit across its devolved responsibilities including tackling unsafe cladding in residential properties in Wales.

Health and Social Care Levy

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) the Scottish Government on the financial impact of the Social Care Levy on (i) private and (ii) voluntary sector employers in the social care sector in (A) the UK and (B) Scotland.

Mr Simon Clarke: HM Treasury Ministers and officials have had several discussions with the devolved administrations, including the Scottish Governments, on the implementation of the Health and Social Care Levy. These discussions cover a range of issues and will continue until and beyond its introduction from April 2022. The Government has made a number of assessments of the impact of the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy, which were published alongside the announcement. These include the distributional analysis of the impact of the combined tax and spending announcements, a technical annex in our plan for health and social care and a Tax Information and Impact Note. Further, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the economic effects of the Levy in their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This can be found here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/

Red Diesel: Rebates

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on critical mineral production of ending of the red diesel rebate in April 2022.

Helen Whately: Following consultation in 2020, the Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. This will more fairly reflect the negative environmental impact of the emissions they produce and help to ensure that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternatives. The Government did not believe that the cases made by sectors that will not retain their red diesel entitlement outweighed its environmental objectives. The Government recently announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition to support the development and demonstration of low carbon alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors. Going forward, the Government will publish a UK Critical Minerals strategy in 2022, setting out its approach to securing technology-critical minerals and metals.

Taxation: Carbon Emissions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to raise taxes for the purposes of meeting costs associated with net zero targets.

Helen Whately: The Net Zero Review stated that if there is to be additional public investment to support decarbonisation, it may need to be funded through additional taxes or reprioritised from other areas of government spending.The Government remains committed to maintaining an ambitious carbon price to ensure that polluters continue to pay for their emissions. The UK ETS delivers a robust carbon price signal and promotes cost-effective decarbonisation by allowing businesses to cut carbon where it is cheapest to do so, and the Government has set out its intention to consult on making it the world’s first Net Zero cap and trade market.The Government keeps all tax policy under review.

Treasury: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to his Department since 1 January 2021.

Helen Whately: Since 1 January 2021, Litigation Group has continued to provide litigation services to the majority of government departments, including HM Treasury, and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies. The Group’s work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries and acting in Inquests. This has involved, amongst other things, attending in a wide range of courts, including Coroners’ Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court. Our Employment and Commercial Groups similarly provide litigation services to the majority of government departments and have done so in the period in question.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the financial effect of the freeze on fuel duty since 2010 for the average motorist.

Helen Whately: As a result of twelve consecutive years of frozen fuel duty rates, the average UK car driver will pay around £15 less per tank of fuel, and will have cumulatively saved around £1,900 since 2011, compared to what would have been paid under the pre-2010 escalator. The 2022-23 freeze represents a saving for consumers of nearly £8 billion over the next five years.

Children: Day Care

Feryal Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on promoting the uptake of the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.

Mr Simon Clarke: Take up of Tax-Free Childcare has continued to rise despite the pandemic. Most recent take up levels (September 2021) are 316,000 families for 371,000 children, compared to 308,000 families using childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021. HMRC continue to carry out communications and marketing activity which has proven to raise awareness and understanding of the scheme.

Child Benefit: Taxation

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the introduction of the High-Income Child Benefit Tax charge on single-parent families.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January 2013 to ensure that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The tax charge applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims it. HICBC is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other income tax policy. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not routinely collect information on the circumstances of individuals in a household, so HMRC cannot assess the impact the introduction of the High Income Child Benefit charge has had on single parent families.

Child Benefit: Taxation

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the income threshold for the High-Income Child Benefit Tax charge.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a disciplined and responsible way by targeting support where it is most needed. At present, the adjusted net income threshold of £50,000 only affects a small minority of those with comparatively high incomes. The Government set the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) thresholds at these levels to help target public expenditure in the way it considered most effective. As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps this under review as part of the annual Budget process.

Inflation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Bank of England on steps to help tackle rising inflation rates.

John Glen: The Chancellor and Governor of the Bank of England regularly meet to discuss a wide range issues affecting the economy. However, it is the responsibility of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to maintain price stability through its use of monetary policy. The MPC has been successful in doing so, with inflation averaging close to target since the Bank’s independence. The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of the MPC’s objectives, so the Government does not comment on the conduct of monetary policy. Although inflation is a shared global problem that is not unique to the UK, the Government is taking action to ease cost of living pressures where it can. As part of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review the Chancellor announced a package of measures to help with cost of living pressures, including reducing the taper rate in Universal Credit from 63% to 55%, and increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour in April 2022. Alongside the Budget and Spending Review the Chancellor also wrote to the Governor of the Bank of England to reaffirm their remit to achieve low and stable inflation, confirming the Government’s commitment to price stability was absolute.

Electronic Commerce: Fraud

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to protect businesses from charge-back fraud.

John Glen: Chargebacks form part of commercial card scheme rules which allow a cardholder to request a refund though their debit card issuer (e.g. their bank) in certain circumstances, for example in cases of non-delivery, or if a purchase is not successful. The Government considers chargebacks to be an important consumer protection. However, it is important to note that the chargeback facility is not a statutory protection, but is instead a commercial offering provided by card schemes at their own discretion, and which participating banks, merchants, and relevant parties subscribe to. Commercial card schemes have established processes in place to investigate chargeback claims from customers, and to mitigate against chargeback fraud. The Government works closely with industry to close down the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.

Bank Services

Damien Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people have access to banking services.

John Glen: The way consumers and businesses interact with their banking continues to change, bringing significant benefits to those who choose to opt for the convenience, security, and speed of digital payments and banking. However, the Government also recognises that physical access to banking continues to play an important role in many people’s lives. Decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. However, the Government firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered and mitigated where possible so that all customers and businesses continue to have access to banking services. In May 2017, the largest banks and building societies signed up to the Access to Banking Standard which commits them to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services. Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority also ensures firms carefully consider the impact of branch closures on customers’ needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means, such as mobile or online banking, or via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking customers and 95% of business to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Tax Avoidance

Mark Tami: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential effect of the Loan Charge on the (a) mental health and (b) number of suicides amongst people subject to that charge prior to its introduction.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is committed to using taxpayer insight and data to ensure the taxpayer impacts of tax policies are identified and understood. Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) are intended to give a clear explanation of the policy objective together with details of the tax impact on the economy, equalities, and various sectors of society. The impact of the Loan Charge on those affected was assessed ahead of the introduction of the policy. The November 2017 TIIN assessed the impact of the policy across the entire UK population, of which affected avoidance scheme users make up a very small minority. It anticipated that some individuals affected by the policy would become insolvent as a result. The impact of the Loan Charge was also considered as part of the Independent Loan Charge Review, led by Lord Morse in 2019. Lord Morse recommended improvements be made to HMRC’s impact assessments. The Government accepted these recommendations and TIINs are now more thorough in their assessment of impacts on individuals, households and families.

Business: Coronavirus

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of the covid-19 restrictions announced on 8 December 2021.

John Glen: On 8 December, the government implemented its Plan B response to managing Covid-19. This was in response to the risks posed by the omicron variant. The government set out Plan B in its Autumn and Winter Plan, published in September 2021. Plan B has been designed to help control the spread of the virus while avoiding unduly damaging economic and social restrictions. A full assessment of the measures can be found in the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-autumn-and-winter-plan-2021 The government will keep the data under constant review, and the government will continue to monitor the impacts of Plan B on the economy.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether all British Council staff that have applied under the ARAP scheme are now in the UK.

James Cleverly: 45 former British Council employees have already arrived in the UK, together with their dependents. In August we also agreed to resettle over 50 British Council contractors. Many of these have already arrived in the UK with their families. We are working with the Home Office and the Ministry Of Defence in order to make sure that the rest of those who are eligible to come to the UK can do so.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to take steps at the United Nations Human Rights Council to promote human rights in Bahrain.

James Cleverly: Bahrain is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office human rights priority country. We regularly raise human rights issues and individual cases with senior members of the Government of Bahrain, and continue to raise specific cases with senior interlocutors, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies.We are happy to work with partners, including the Human Rights Council, to promote human rights in Bahrain and elsewhere.

Israel: Palestinians

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the Israeli Government's policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians, including children, who have been killed by Israeli forces.

James Cleverly: The UK position is that all sides should treat the dead with respect and to return any bodies that they are holding.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to help ensure that that Iran will not become a nuclear power.

James Cleverly: We are currently engaged in negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). Iran must now decide whether to conclude the fair and comprehensive deal on the table, for the benefit of the Iranian people and economy, or collapse the JCPoA. In this scenario, we would carefully consider all the options in partnership with our allies.

Travel: Quarantine

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK diplomatic staff posted in countries on the UK red travel list are exempted from quarantine requirements on return to the UK.

Amanda Milling: Crown Servants posted in countries on the UK red list are required to quarantine in a government approved hotel on return to the UK unless the relevant department of the UK government has certified that they are: (i) travelling to the UK for essential government work or returning from such work outside the UK; (ii) returning from conducting essential state business outside of the UK; or (iii) returning to the UK where this is necessary to facilitate the functioning of a diplomatic mission or consular post of Her Majesty or of a military/other official posting on behalf of Her Majesty. Each case is considered individually and a clear justification must be provided with reference to the exemption criteria.

China: Minerals

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make a statement on China’s dominance of the critical mineral sector.

Amanda Milling: The Government is considering the possible implications of highly concentrated supply of some critical materials in certain geographies, whether in terms of mining or downstream processing. Resilience comes from diversity of supply, and diversity relies on an effective trading system. We have committed to publishing a UK Critical Minerals strategy in 2022, which will set out how we will work internationally to ensure sustainability of the UK’s supply, along with establishing an enabling environment for growing the sector in the UK.

Ethiopia: Armed Conflict

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps the Government is taking to help tackle the escalating conflict in Ethiopia and the prospect of a humanitarian catastrophe in that country.

Vicky Ford: We are extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia and the implications it has for the country as a whole.The UK is working to bring an end to the violence and to facilitate humanitarian access. I have called on all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid through. I spoke with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Redwan on 18 November, stressing the need for all parties to the conflict to engage in meaningful talks, lift the blockade on aid, and end the mobilisation of civilians and ethnically targeted arrests. I also spoke to Ethiopian Minister of Justice Gedion on 6 December and pressed for an end to the fighting and for peace talks. I have continued to emphasise the need for a ceasefire through recent calls with my international counterparts, including Kenya and the African Union (AU). I spoke with the AU High Representative for the Horn of African Region, Olusegun Obasanjo on 4 November to discuss the situation and make clear our strong support, for his efforts to end the conflict. I also spoke with AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole, on 8 November and pressed him on the need for the AU to find a way forward.UK officials have also travelled to Tigray on multiple occasions since November 2020 to promote mediation and humanitarian efforts. Overall, the UK has provided more than £76 million of funding to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, making the UK the second largest donor.

UK Mission to the European Union

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff have been employed by the UK Mission to the EU in each of the last 10 years.

Amanda Milling: The UK Mission to the European Union currently employs over 150 people, comprising both permanent civil servants from multiple government departments and locally recruited staff. The vast majority of staff are funded by FCDO and the evolution of FCDO staff numbers from 2014-2021 is set out below.Reference DateTotal FCDO funded UK Mission to the European Union posts31/03/2021140-15931/03/2020160-17931/03/2019160-17931/03/2018140-15931/03/2017120-13931/03/2016120-13931/03/2015120-13931/03/2014120-139

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to her Department since 1 January 2021.

Amanda Milling: Since 1 January 2021, Litigation Group has continued to provide litigation services to the majority of government departments, including FCDO, and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies.The Group's work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries and acting in Inquests. This has involved, amongst other things, attending in a wide range of courts, including Coroners' Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court. Our Employment and Commercial Groups similarly provide litigation services to the majority of government departments and have done so in the period in question.

Travel: France

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether children aged 12 to 15 can travel to France without access to an internationally accepted way of proving their covid-19 vaccination status for travel if the accompanying adults can show proof of the children having received all the required vaccinations.

Wendy Morton: Border measures remain the prerogative of the receiving host government and are subject to change, often with little notice. As outlined on FCDO Travel Advice, all travellers to France must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure, regardless of vaccination status. For those unable to evidence their vaccine status, or who are not fully vaccinated, they will need to have an essential reason to travel, self-certify that they do not have symptoms, self-isolate for seven days on arrival and take a PCR test following self-isolation.Children aged 12 years old or over who are not fully vaccinated and travelling with a fully vaccinated adult, are required to present a negative test result and do not need to provide an essential reason for travel, nor do they need to self-isolate on arrival. Children aged 12 years old or over who are unvaccinated and travelling alone are subject to the same conditions as adults who are not fully vaccinated.Travellers should ensure they are familiar with the latest restrictions through FCDO Travel Advice.

Spain: Visas

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to establish bilateral arrangements with Spain to allow UK nationals to travel there visa-free beyond the 90 days in a 180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to meet representatives of the Government of Spain in February 2021 to agree reciprocal arrangements to allow UK nationals to travel to Spain visa-free beyond the 90 days in a 180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals.

Wendy Morton: During negotiations with the EU led by Lord Frost, the Government discussed arrangements for British Citizens travelling to the Schengen Area. Regrettably, the EU consistently maintained that British Citizens will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code as of 1 January 2021. This means that British Citizens are able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to nationals of eligible third countries, in line with existing EU legislation. British Citizens who are planning to stay longer than 90 days in a rolling 180-day period will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit.The UK's Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU notes that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals in accordance with their respective laws. The detail of those arrangements is set by domestic law, reflecting the UK's position as a non-EU Member State.Negotiations with the EU have concluded and the Government is focused on the smooth, robust and effective implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Government does not typically enter into bilateral agreements on visa-free travel.

Ukraine: Foreign Relations

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of Ukraine’s compliance with Article 282 of the Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement between the UK and Ukraine, signed on 8 October 2020.

Wendy Morton: The UK continues to monitor compliance and ensure high levels of protection across all its bilateral trade relationships. Trade agreement implementation, which involves committees with partner countries and engagement with advisory groups and civil society, allows for regular engagement on labour, climate and environment matters with partner countries.For example, the Department for International Trade held its first Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Sub-Committee with Ukraine in November 2021. TSD Sub-Committees aim to support the effective implementation of the labour, environment and climate provisions included in trade agreements.Compliance monitoring is supported by the work of the UK overseas network as well as appropriate engagement through multilateral institutions.

Ukraine: Overseas Aid

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total value is of payments from UK Aid to Abt Associates in respect of projects in Ukraine.

Wendy Morton: Abt Associates are a provider to the Ukraine programme funded by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and previously the Good Governance Fund (formerly a CSSF programme, now funded by FCDO). The FCDO has held a contract with Abt Associates since May 2020, as part of the Managed Fund Technical Assistance Programme. Abt Associates have worked on numerous individual projects within Ukraine and the Eastern Neighbourhood. The latest financial figures for the Managed Fund Technical Assistance Programme, including expenditure to Abt Associates is available to the public on DevTracker.

Ukraine: Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of Ukraine’s compliance with International Labour Organisation protocols.

Wendy Morton: The United Kingdom engages with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on country compliance with international labour standards actively as a permanent member of the ILO Governing Body and International Labour Conference. The Committee on the Application of Standards is integral to the ILO's supervisory system and the UK encourages all countries to abide to high labour standards. It is not for the UK to independently assess compliance with ILO standards and therefore any view of Ukraine's compliance would be based on information from the ILO's supervisory system.In Ukraine, the UK is a key supporter to Ukraine's economic and governance reforms, as restated by the Prime Minister in his call to President Zelenskyy on 23 September and through the UK-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement signed on the 8 October 2020. The UK has advised Ukraine on the development of legislation to support key reforms in a number of areas, including on labour reform, through providing legal advice and technical assistance based on international best practice as well as recommendations of respected organisations, such as the International Labour Organisation.

Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty Review Conference

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK officials will be attending the 2022 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

James Cleverly: The UK's delegation at the 2022 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will be led by the UK's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament. Delegations this year will be limited in number because of restrictions related to the Covid pandemic.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aid: Ambulance Services

Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times the Welsh Ambulance Service has (a) submitted and (b) been granted a MACA request for assistance from his Department in each of the last five calendar years, including 2021 as of 6 December.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Indo-Pacific Region: Warships

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has defined the regular drumbeat of Carrier Strike Group operations in the Indo-Pacific.

James Heappey: The UK is committed to a greater persistent presence in the Indo Pacific. This year's Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Indo Pacific is just one example of the more confident, UK-led, highly technological, and internationally partnered effort to strengthen our alliances and national interests in a region critical to global peace and prosperity. HMS Spey and HMS Tamar arrived in the Indo-Pacific in October where they will remain, forward-deployed on a permanent basis. In addition, planning has begun for the forward-deployment of a Littoral Response Group to the region from 2023. Carriers are key strategic assets and their deployment plans will depend on threat as well as the Government’s engagement and security priorities.

Frigates

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of  the Royal Navy having two fewer frigates in 2025 than was envisaged in Joint Force 2025.

Jeremy Quin: HMS MONMOUTH and HMS MONTROSE, had been due to enter planned maintenance and operational regeneration cycles from 2023 which would in any event have impacted their availability in 2025. Frigate availability more broadly will be maintained through the extension of the three General Purposes Type 23s.

Peacekeeping Operations: Children

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that child protection is embedded in all UK peacekeeping and military training.

James Heappey: In line with the MOD's Human Security strategy, we are working to ensure that Human Security training, including training on child protection, is part of all relevant training programmes for personnel. This work is being taken forward as part of the Human Security change programme, led by the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.The training provided to UK personnel deploying on operations is tailored in order to best meet the needs of the deployment, taking into consideration factors such as the expected level of engagement with the local population and the forecast Defence activity.I can confirm that the pre deployment training and briefing for UK personnel for the UN Peacekeeping missions in Cyprus and Mali include material on child protection.

Military Aid: Poland

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 9 December 2021, HCWS 461 on Deployment of UK military engineers to Poland, how many UK military engineers are being deployed to Poland to support the Polish armed forces.

James Heappey: We are deploying a Squadron of Royal Engineers to Poland, numbering approximately 140 personnel.

AUKUS

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a programme of exercises will be put in place as part of the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US.

James Heappey: AUKUS is a partnership that will work to protect our people and support a peaceful and rules-based international order. Under the 'AUKUS' alliance, we will enhance the development of joint capabilities, interoperability between our forces and technology sharing, ensuring our people are kept safe from harm and reinforcing our shared goals. AUKUS will foster deeper integration of security and defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains.

Indo-Pacific Region: Warships

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what fleet basing arrangements are in place for the Carrier Strike Group in the Pacific.

James Heappey: There are no permanent fleet basing arrangements for a Carrier Strike Group in the Pacific. The MOD is constantly working with Allies and partners to find mutual benefits to sustaining our fleet globally including through the use of non-sovereign facilities.

China: Genetics

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the final report by the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence on National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of China’s policy to pursue a global collection mechanism for Chinese government genetic databases.

James Heappey: The UK is committed to promoting the ethical development and deployment of AI and other new technologies, in the UK and overseas, and we closely monitor related threats. The Ministry of Defence is supporting the National Science and Technology Council to develop our strategic understanding of the opportunities, threats and implications posed by new and emerging technologies. This includes close working with allies, partners, academia and civil society. We will shortly publish the first Defence AI Strategy setting out our approach to exploiting these critical technologies, as well as our intent to influence and shape global AI developments to promote security, stability, and democratic values.

14 Signal Regiment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where the14 Signals Regiment is deployed; and whether the Regiment has any armoured vehicles.

James Heappey: Soldiers from 14 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) are currently committed to overseas deployments in support of Op NEWCOMBE, Op CABRIT and Op SHADER. Within the UK there are individuals deployed in support of, and held at readiness for, UK resilience commitments.The unit has a diverse fleet of vehicles which includes BULLDOG armoured fighting vehicles.

Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament.

Jeremy Quin: The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent will remain essential for as long as the global security environment demands. However, the UK is fully committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The UK supports the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament, and we value their leadership in this area. Although we do not agree with all of their recommendations, the UK has constructive engagement with Sweden and a broad range of international partners on disarmament issues.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Conferences

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last spoke to his counterparts in Russia and China on the NPT Review Conference taking place in January 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the lead Government department for matters relating to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and preparations for the Review Conference including relevant discussions between States party to the Treaty.Ministry of Defence officials regularly support FCDO engagement on this topic. They have regular engagement with their Russian and Chinese counterparts on the NPT through the P5 process; including during the recent P5 Process Paris Conference on 2-3 December.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Conferences

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are working on issues of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament as of 9 December 2021.

Jeremy Quin: The Counter Proliferation and Arms Control Centre (CPACC), a joint unit drawing on expertise from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, leads on the UK approach to issues of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Five MOD officials work on nuclear disarmament and counter proliferation issues within CPACC. Within the Defence Nuclear Organisation and Atomic Weapons Establishment, a further 44 officials work on research into arms control verification and monitoring for nuclear tests. These full-time roles are supported by nuclear policy officials, geographic and thematic policy advisors, intelligence analysts and technical experts from the wider MOD and across Government.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Conferences

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what dates he last met the Prime Minister to discuss the matter of the 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Jeremy Quin: The Defence Secretary has regular meetings with the Prime Minister on a range of nuclear policy issues. However, the right hon. Member may find it helpful to note that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is the lead Government department for matters relating to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons and preparations for the Review Conference.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2021 to Question 903506, when he plans to publish an updated Equipment Plan document.

Jeremy Quin: We wrote to the Public Accounts Committee last month to inform the committee that an autumn publication date was no longer possible to ensure the Ministry of Defence report and the National Audit Office assessment are, as is usually the case, published together. We are working closely with the NAO to agree a revised timetable for publication, and intend to publish in early 2022. We will provide the Public Accounts Committee with an update shortly.

Armed Forces: Long Covid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of Armed Forces personnel who have experienced symptoms and side effects typically associated with Long Covid after testing negative for covid-19; and how many personnel are experiencing those symptoms as of 9 December 2021.

Leo Docherty: As of 9 December 2021, there were 219 UK Armed Forces personnel whose medical records indicated on-going COVID symptoms and post-COVID syndrome. It is not possible to identify from military medical records how many of these personnel had previously tested negative for COVID-19.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to end the use of fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what target date he has set for the ending of the use of fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using faux fur as an alternative to the use of real fur in uniforms issued to personnel in the armed forces.

Jeremy Quin: Where man-made alternatives to replace natural fur items provide a suitable, affordable and sustainable alternative to animal products these will be used. For example, faux fur is now used for the smaller busby hats worn by the King's Troop. However in some instances, there is currently no viable alternative though the Department will continue to consider options for faux alternatives where available to see if they can meet our criteria.

Shipbuilding

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his timescale is for publishing the National Shipbuilding Strategy refresh.

Mr Ben Wallace: The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh will now be published early next year.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Suicide

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of benefit claimants who have died by suicide.

Chloe Smith: The department does not hold data on the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of benefit claimants who have died by suicide.

Universal Credit

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the (a) reduction of the universal credit taper rate and (b) increase in the work allowance on the number of children in poverty.

David Rutley: It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the effect of the reduction of the Universal Credit taper rate or the increase in work allowance on the number of children in poverty. Projecting the impacts of policies on poverty involves projecting forward the impact of the pandemic on every household’s income, which is not possible to do with confidence, not least because the latest comprehensive data on net incomes for households is from 2019-20, before the pandemic began. However, we do know that these changes will leave almost two million workers around £1000 better off per year on average. Official child poverty statistics covering the period 2020/21, will be published in March 2022, as part of the Department’s (a) Children in Low Income Families and (b) Households Below Average Income publications, subject to the usual checks on data quality. This Government has always believed that the most sustainable way to lift children out of poverty is by helping their parents to move into and to progress in work wherever possible. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. In 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there were almost 1 million fewer workless households and almost 580,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK in September 2021. Furthermore, our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects. However, we recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we continue our recovery from the impacts of the COVID pandemic, which is why vulnerable households will be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. This includes £421 million for the Household Support Fund, which will help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. We have also increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy healthy foods such as milk, fruit and vitamins, and are investing over £200m a year from 2022 to extend our successful Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all Local Authorities in England.

Pension Credit

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether alternative provision is in place for pension credit applicants who are unable to apply online.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to assist blind and partially sighted people when applying for pension credit.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision is in place to enable blind and partially sighted people to access large print forms when applying for pension credit.

Guy Opperman: DWP provides a range of ways to enable people to make a claim to Pension Credit according to their particular circumstances. Anyone unable to apply for Pension Credit online can use the Freephone claim line 0800 99 1234. A friend or family member can also call on their behalf if the customer is unable to use the phone themselves. DWP also provides a free Textphone service 0800 169 0133. Customers can also use the video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users and a Relay UK service for anyone who cannot hear or speak on the phone. Paper application forms, including large print and Braille versions, are also readily available upon request. The form has recently been adapted to meet a RNIB request for accessibility. Where customers require additional support to make a claim, we can make a referral to the DWP visiting service. Many voluntary organisations and charities are also able to help older people make a claim. Since May 2020, the online Pension Credit application service has provided the flexibility for friends, family and third sector organisations to support older people who may struggle to make a claim alone and to do so at a time that is most convenient for them. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim.

State Retirement Pensions

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of allowing State Pension claimants to choose whether to be paid monthly or four-weekly.

Guy Opperman: Successive Governments, of different political persuasions, have created a State Pension system that does not provide for monthly payments by law. A customer can request a change to weekly or bi-weekly payments if they wish, at any point after the initial claim and award payment is made.

Members: Correspondence

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will respond to correspondence dated 8 June 2021 from the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on the PHSO use of the severity of injustice scale.

Guy Opperman: Despite a thorough search, we are unable to locate any correspondence from the hon. Member for this subject or date. We have contacted the hon. Member’s office for further information.

Pensioners: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) potential viability of providing additional financial support to pensioners during winter 2021-22 and (b) impact of additional support on the financial wellbeing of pensioners in Barnsley Metropolitan.

Guy Opperman: The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people. Under this Government, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is now over £2,050 higher in cash terms than in 2010. Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5 billion in Pension Credit which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75. We recognise that some people may still require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country can now access an additional £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. Up to 50% of the Fund is available for councils to spend on households without children, including those of State Pension age. Barnsley local authority has been allocated £2,351,263.96. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million. In addition, Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be payable to customers of State Pension age. We will pay £200 to households with a customer aged between 66 and 79 and £300 to a household with someone aged 80 or over. We pay over 11m Winter Fuel Payments annually at a cost of £2bn which is a significant contribution to winter fuel bills. Cold Weather Payments help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit. Those eligible will continue to automatically receive £25 when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days. The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides those in receipt of Pension Credit guarantee credit a discount of £140 on their energy bill providing their supplier is part of the scheme. Furthermore, the Government continues to protect benefits for older people including free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and bus passes. The latest statistics show that in the three years to 2019/20, absolute poverty for pensioners in Yorkshire and the Humber, after housing costs, had reduced significantly.

Disability

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to enable disable people to contribute their experiences into the process for compiling the planned disability White Paper.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish the disability White Paper.

Chloe Smith: The Health and Disability Green Paper proposals will be detailed in the White Paper set to publish in mid-2022. More than 40 events with disabled people, people with health conditions and their representatives were held throughout the consultation period for ‘Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’. This was to ensure that their views shaped the content of the consultation. The responses to the Health and Disability Green Paper will be analysed to determine suitable proposals for improvement in the health and disability space and wider benefit reform. We continue to engage stakeholders regularly, particularly on the broader aspects of the paper that focus on future reform. The Government published the National Disability Strategy which aims to improve disabled people’s everyday lives. The strategy sets out a very wide-ranging set of cross-government practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people, across jobs, education, housing,transport, shopping, culture, justice, public services, and data and evidence. The National Disability Strategy committed to review the way the UK government engages with disabled people, in discussion with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and charities. That work is already underway. The National Disability Strategy committed to publishing an annual report in summer 2022, which will detail the progress made against all commitments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Timber: Urban Areas

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning (a) some or (b) all wood burning in urban areas on (i) reducing air pollution and (ii) meeting climate change targets.

Jo Churchill: Defra has no current plans to introduce a ban on wood burning in urban areas. We continue to undertake regular monitoring of emission sources of air pollutants and greenhouse gases to inform future policy.

Food: Waste

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support sustainable towns and communities initiatives that bring together local stakeholders to reduce food waste across their locality.

Jo Churchill: We support the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Courtauld 2030 commitment which aims to halve UK food waste by 2030. This will be achieved through consumer campaigns, such as Love Food Hate Waste, as well as by working with businesses on helping consumers to waste less through best practice labelling advice and guidance, for instance on freezing and chilling foods.WRAP has also developed a new online learning programme called Guardians of Grub to help UK hospitality and food service businesses put food waste reduction and associated cost savings right at the heart of their operations, including supporting consumers to reduce food waste when eating out of home.Since 2017, Defra has made a series of grants available to help the redistribution sector. In total nearly £12 million has been awarded to over 250 large and small redistribution organisations across the country for the provision of for example warehousing, vehicles, fridges and freezers to get more surplus food to those who have a need.

Food: Waste

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce food waste in the hospitality and catering industries.

Jo Churchill: We support the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and its work to halve food waste per capita by 2030.The Hospitality and Food Service Sector Action Plan, supported by the Government and delivered by WRAP, details the actions the sector should take and provides guidance and tools including to Target, Measure and Act on waste; setting a target for reduction, measuring and acting on food waste in their operations. We will also consult on introducing mandatory food waste reporting for food businesses of an appropriate size.WRAP has also developed a campaign and new online learning programme for the sector called Guardians of Grub. It aims to raise awareness of the issue of food waste, the environmental and financial benefits of taking action and to embed food waste reduction through online learning courses for people working in the sector.

Birds: Conservation

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the fifth UK Birds of Conservation Concern report published on 1 December 2021.

Rebecca Pow: We are committed to the recovery of species, including wild birds, in England and that is why within the Environment Act 2021 we have a requirement for a new legally binding target halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Furthermore, we plan to publish a Green Paper soon which will consider further actions that Defra can take to assist nature's recovery.Our Agri-environment schemes continue to be the principal means of improving habitat provision for farmland birds and the wider environment on farmland in England. We were delighted to see a 40% uplift in Countryside Stewardship applications this year which will help drive immediate action to support birds and other species.In the longer term we will transition to three new environmental land management schemes which will further this work. In the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, participants can select from an initial set of eight standards to build their own agreements. Several of these standards contain actions to support birds. For example, the Arable and Horticultural Land Standard aims to support increased farmland biodiversity, including wild bird and pollinator populations through specific actions that will provide year-round resources for farmland birds and insects.In addition, the Government continues to support specific conservation action for birds. For example, supporting the establishment of the National Recovery Partnership for curlew in England, which brings together a range of organisations with a desire to protect and conserve this species, and funding a trial translocation and recovery project in the east of England. We have also supported successful reintroductions, including the white-tailed eagle to southern England.

Agriculture: Sewage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Environment Agency's Sludge Strategy in regulating the use of sewage sludge by farmers.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency published its sludge strategy in March 2020 and is currently working on the delivery of this strategy with the water industry, Defra and other key stakeholders - including the National Farmers’ Union. The strategy’s implementation is due to be completed in 2023. Current work includes preparation for a public consultation to effect the changes laid out in the strategy, including an assessment of the strategy’s approach.

Water Companies: Investment Income

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of analysis by David Hall, of the Public Services International Research Unit at the University of Greenwich, which found that English water and sewerage companies have paid shareholders a total of £16.9 billion in dividends since 2010 to 2021.

Rebecca Pow: Decisions on dividends for water company shareholders are made by water company boards. Company boards carry out these decisions within the framework of regulatory price controls, licence conditions and company law. Ofwat is responsible for economic regulation of the water companies. Ofwat introduced reforms to financial and corporate practices which require water companies to: share any benefits of higher levels of debt with customers;increase financial resilience; andbe transparent about how executive performance pay and dividends relate to services for customers. Ofwat monitors water companies’ performance closely. If companies do not meet their obligations, Ofwat will take the necessary regulatory action to protect customers’ interests. Ofwat has made underperforming companies pay out of their own profits either to reduce bills to their customers or to invest in improving services.

Landfill: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of the Halliwell Banks Landfill site on the surrounding area.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential costs of mitigating potential negative impacts of the Halliwell Banks Landfill site on the surrounding area (a) as at 7 December 2021, (b) in 10 years and (c) in 20 years.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risk to public health as a result of the Halliwell Banks Landfill site.

Jo Churchill: The former Halliwell Banks landfill site falls under the scope of the Part 2a Contaminated Land regime and was designated a “special site” as a result of its potential impact to the groundwater in the Principal Aquifer, the North Sea and the Northumberland Costal Special Protection Area. Following the 2A regime, “Appropriate Persons” with a link to the site have been identified, and, in accordance with the statutory procedure, required to commission a post determination report examining the issues with the site. This report is currently being jointly scrutinised by the Environment Agency and Natural England, who expect to make a determination on its suitability in coming months.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to his Department since 1 January 2021.

Victoria Prentis: Since 1 January 2021, Litigation Group has continued to provide litigation services to the majority of Government departments, including Defra, and executive agencies, as well as many non-departmental public bodies. The Group’s work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries and acting in Inquests. This has involved, amongst other things, attending in a wide range of courts, including Coroners’ Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court. Our Employment and Commercial Groups similarly provide litigation services to the majority of Government departments and have done so in the period in question.

Birds: Disease Control

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) mitigate the spread of trichomonosis amongst bird populations and (b) prevent the further decline of greenfinches.

Jo Churchill: Trichomonosis in garden birds is not a notifiable disease in the UK, but has caused a significant decline in greenfinch populations since it was first detected here in 2005. The disease has unfortunately also been documented in other garden bird species, including chaffinches, house sparrow, dunnock, great tit and siskin. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) provides advice about keeping bird feeders and water baths clean to prevent transmission between birds. The public can report any concerns to the Garden Wildlife Health (GWH) programme. Defra supports the GWH, which is a collaborative project between the BTO, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Froglife. The project aims to monitor the health of British wildlife and identify new disease threats. It focuses on garden birds, amphibians, reptiles, and hedgehogs. Members of the public can submit reports of sick or dead wildlife and send in samples to the GWH for analysis.

Flood Control: Blackpool South

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's timeframe is for (a) consulting on and (b) confirming plans to spend recent allocations of flood defence funds in Blackpool South.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency is currently working with Blackpool Council (the respective Coast Protection Authority) to progress three coastal schemes on its coastal frontage. Consultation has already commenced on the two Bispham schemes and a second consultation event will take place in early 2022. Little Bispham to Bispham: the Environment Agency is due to receive an Outline Business Case by the end of January 2022 for assurance. The Local Authority has £800,000 allocated in 2021/22 for preliminary studies and design with a forecast of £29.3 million capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date in 2025.Bispham Capital Maintenance: the Environment Agency is due to receive an Outline Business Case by the end of January 2022 for assurance. The Local Authority has £500,000 allocated in 2021/22 for preliminary studies and design, with a forecast of £5.6 million capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date of 2025.Blackpool Beach Nourishment: the Environment Agency has received an application to approve funds to commence preliminary studies and investigations. The Local Authority has £342,000 allocated for preliminary studies in 2021/22 and £12 million forecast for design and capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date of 2026. Consultation will commence during 2022/23. The sea bees re-profiling work at South Shore has an allocation of £7 million and is programmed to commence 2024/25 through to 2026/27. Initial work on this has not commenced yet. (Sea bees are hexagonal concrete revetments designed to dissipate the energy of the waves.) The Environment Agency works closely with Local Authorities, Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) to ensure that all projects are well represented within the capital programme.

Dogs: Artificial Insemination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2021 to Question 57091 on Dogs: Artificial Insemination, what his planned timetable is his Department to consider the recommendations on future veterinary legislation submitted by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Victoria Prentis: As I stated in my previous answer, Defra officials are currently considering the recommendations submitted by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons concerning the reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. Any possible subsequent legislation would be when parliamentary time allows.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish further clarifications of the assistance that farmers will receive from the Rural Payments Agency before such changes are implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: I am happy to say that on 2 December this year , we published a document called Sustainable Farming Incentive – how the scheme will work in 2022.The new document builds on the information we published about the scheme in the Agricultural Transition Plan: June 2021 progress update. It includes a wealth of information – including detail on eligibility, applications, payments, the Annual Health and Welfare Review and more. It also provides even more information on the standards that will be available from 2022, and how we intend to expand the scheme until the full offer is available in 2025.This document provides the next level of detail necessary for farmers to make the right decisions for them and their business.We will be releasing more information on the Local Nature Recovery scheme and Landscape Recovery soon.Farmers can keep up to date on the latest information about changes to farming, including on Landscape Recovery applications and guidance, by signing up to the Defra e-alert, and subscribing to our Future Farming blog.

Storms: Disaster Relief

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether additional funding will be made available to areas affected by (a) Storm Barra and (b) Storm Arwen.

Rebecca Pow: Local authorities concerned about the emergency costs of Storm Arwen or Storm Barra should contact the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to discuss.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was responsible for power being restored, which has now been done.Following Storm Arwen, the Environment Agency (EA) inspected its assets and found significant damage to an access ramp for the Low Ford Tree Catcher in Morpeth, Northumberland. The asset is one of several that reduce the risk of flooding to almost 1000 homes in Morpeth, Northumberland. The damage was so severe that the EA could no longer safely use the ramp and has temporarily suspended routine works on the site. Temporary repairs (using sheet piling and back filling with inert material) and a rescue of native white clawed crayfish, known to be present in the river and of significant conservation importance, are now being arranged for week commencing 13 December 2021. The EA will plan a long-term permanent repair scheme for the next financial year.As well as damage to flood assets, numerous fallen trees are also causing issues across the North East. The EA is currently assessing the impacts of these fallen trees to local flood risk, flood assets and telemetry sites. Many of these trees are significant in size and it is estimated that the average cost of safe removal is around £2000 per site.We are also aware of potentially significant impacts to Forestry Commission and private forestry sites. We will continue to monitor the situation and engage with effected land managers.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential ability of water utilities to make unpermitted sewage discharges during the investigation recently launched by the Environment Agency and Ofwat; and what steps he plans to take towards those utilities before the conclusion of that investigation in the event that such action occurred.

Rebecca Pow: The investigation launched by the Environment Agency on 18 November 2021 aims to determine the extent of any non-compliance with environmental permit conditions relating to flows treated and discharged from sewage treatment works within England. Any non-compliances identified will be subject to enforcement action, up to and including prosecution, depending on the nature or severity of the offence, in accordance with the Environment Agency Enforcement and Sanctions Policy. It is the water companies’ responsibility to take action to return to compliance as soon as possible where breaches of permit are identified. The Environment Agency and Ofwat are working together to ensure that water companies meet this requirement. I met with water companies recently to make clear that the number of sewage discharges is completely unacceptable and that we will not hesitate to take further action, on top of those already set out in the Environment Act, if necessary.

Birds: Conservation

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to halt and reverse population declines in (a) puffins and (b) other seabirds.

Rebecca Pow: The UK’s seabirds, including puffins, are an important part of our natural heritage, and their protection is a high priority for this government. We are working with Natural England to develop a comprehensive and ambitious English Seabird Conservation Strategy which we are aiming to publish in summer 2022. This strategy will aim to assess the vulnerability of each seabird species in light of the pressures they are facing and propose actions to address them. Forage fish such as sandeels play a crucial role in the health of the wider North Sea marine ecosystem. Seabirds and other sensitive marine species rely on sandeels as a food source. Sandeel stocks are highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions and this is affecting the resilience of the seabird populations. Defra and the UK Fisheries Administrations recently concluded a call for evidence on Sandeels and Norway pout to help inform future decision making to ensure these stocks are managed sustainably in the future. The responses are currently being analysed to feed into next steps. We are also developing a UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative which we will be publishing early next year. This document will outline actions to tackle the bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, in UK waters.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Warley dated 18 August 2021 regarding Mr Vieira.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the delay in opening the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme is due to difficulties in moving people from bridging hotels into resettlement homes.

Victoria Atkins: We are working across government and with partners such as UNHCR to design and open the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme amidst a complex and changing picture. We are committed to working in step with the international community to get this right, and we will set out more details soon.Information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement.

Visas: Married People

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current processing time is for the determination of a decision on a spousal visa application.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time has been for the determination of a decision on a spousal visa application in each year from 2010.

Kevin Foster: Entry Clearance applications for spouse visas have a published service standard of 60 working days.Leave to Remain applications for spouse visas have a published service standard of eight weeks.Indefinite Leave to Remain applications for spouse visas have a published service standard of six months.The Home Office publishes data on visa applications in Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Data on processing times for applications for spousal visas are published in table VC_02 of the Transparency data overview: Visas and Citizenship data: Q2 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Information on how to use the Transparency data overview: Visas and Citizenship data: Q2 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to year ending September 2021.

Visas: Turkey

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Turkish Businessperson visa applications received be her Department in the last five years were successful.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on ECAA Businesspersons in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’.Data on applications for ECAA Businesspersons are published in table Vis_D01 of the entry clearance visa detailed dataset. Data on the number of ECAA Businesspersons issued and refused are included in table Vis_D02. These data may be selected using the ‘ECAA Businessperson’ visa type subgroup.

Asylum: Housing

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on moving asylum seekers out of hotels under Operation Oak; and what steps she is taking to improve the condition of housing for asylum seekers and refugees.

Kevin Foster: Small Boat crossings across the Channel have been exceptionally high this year as such intake of asylum seekers particularly in Autumn and Winter months has been higher than anticipated and has outstripped the numbers moved into dispersal accommodation. This has led to an increase in the number of hotels in use to enable us to comply with statutory duties to accommodate people seeking asylum who are at risk of destitution.We continue to work closely with providers to procure additional dispersal accommodation and are exploring options, such as funding for local authorities, to help widen dispersal and to utilise empty homes across various local authorities so we can reduce and ultimately end the use of hotels as contingency accommodation. The more offers from local authorities across the UK we receive, the quicker this process will be.

Seasonal Workers: Horticulture

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of (a) including ornamental horticulture in the seasonal workers visa scheme and (b) allowing overseas workers who currently work on edible horticulture to work on ornamental horticulture sites.

Kevin Foster: We are considering the future of the Seasonal Worker route and will confirm further details imminently.

Undocumented Migrants: Hotels

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the total budget allocated to housing illegal migrants in hotels is commercial in confidence when that total would not reveal the contract terms of individual suppliers.

Kevin Foster: The Rt Hon. Gentleman’s question appears to relate to a Freedom of Information (FOI) response. Responses to all FOI requests are handled in line with the legislation, including applying relevant exemptions where applicable.

Seasonal Workers: Horticulture

Mr Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of including ornamental horticulture in the seasonal workers visa scheme.

Kevin Foster: We are considering the future of the Seasonal Worker route and will confirm further details imminently.

Asylum: Identity Cards

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support is available through her Department to asylum seekers who (a) have never been issued an Asylum Registration Card and (b) have seen their Asylum Registration Card expire.

Kevin Foster: Advice and guidance is published on GOV.UK which sets out the purpose of an ARC card, which is not required to access asylum support, and guidance on how to raise and issue with an ARC card.Application registration card (ARC) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Identity Cards

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for an Asylum Registration Card application to be processed by UKVI in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Kevin Foster: An Application Registration Card (ARC) is produced as a routine part of the registration process for asylum applicants, and is not an immigration product in its own right which people apply for. The system will produce and deliver an ARC within three days of the asylum screening taking place.

Poverty

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent poverty among those with No Recourse to Public Funds.

Kevin Foster: Those with temporary migration status are generally required to demonstrate their ability to support themselves and any accompanying family members, including children, in the UK without recourse to public funds as part of their immigration application. This is a well-established principle which protects taxpayer-funded public services from becoming overburdened. There are, nonetheless, strong and important safeguards in place to ensure migrants receive support where they are destitute, at risk of destitution, or have community care needs, including issues relating to human rights or the wellbeing of children. Migrants with leave under the family and human rights routes, and those who have been granted leave on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa route as a British National (Overseas) status holder or a family member of a British National (Overseas) status holder can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances. Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 imposes a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of “children in need” in their area. Support provided to a child by local authorities under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s). Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution. This might include where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question. Migrants who have made the necessary national insurance contributions can also claim contributory benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance and a state pension, which are not subject to residence conditions.

Immigration: EU Nationals

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the cost of providing physical cards as proof of settled status.

Kevin Foster: If we were required to issue a physical card to everyone who is granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), we would have to provide them with biometric cards akin to the biometric residence permit we plan to phase out by the end of 2024.During the passage of The Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, we estimated it would cost at least £270m if each of the 3.6m EEA citizens granted leave under the EUSS at that time was provided with a biometric card.Up to the end of September this year over 5.2 million people had obtained a grant of status under the EUSS. We therefore expect this estimate to now be much higher.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Care Homes: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he is having with City of York Council on the use of disused care homes for resettlement accommodation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Victoria Atkins: We are aware that City of York Council looked at bringing disused older persons accommodation in the city back into use as this had been raised with council officers by an elected member. However, given the current state of the accommodation, and the significant cost which would be incurred to make the buildings suitable for family occupation, it was not deemed a feasible suggestion. City of York Council will provide support for families along with Refugee Council and local charities such as RAY (Refugee Action York) and York City of Sanctuary.

Non-domestic Rates

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many (a) retail, (b) hospitality and (c) leisure properties, in the absence of short-term covid relief, would not have been entitled to the full benefit of a downward rates reduction because of downward transitional limits, in (i) 2020-2021 and (ii) 2021-2022 in each of the nine standard English regions.

Kemi Badenoch: The Department does not collect information on which types of properties are eligible for transitional relief.

Non-domestic Rates

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the total business rates payable were in (a) warehouse, industrial and factory, (b) office, (c) retail, (d) hospitality and (e) leisure properties; and what the total amounts payable would have been for each of those property categories without transitional relief in (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19, (iii) 2019-20, (iv) 2020-2021 and (v) 2021-22.

Kemi Badenoch: The Department does not collect information on the net business rates of properties by sector.

Public Lavatories: Construction

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide additional funding to local authorities for the construction of new public toilets.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on public wellbeing of the removal of public toilets.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will commit to building new public toilets.

Kemi Badenoch: Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about public toilet provision in their localities. In this year’s Settlement, the Government made available an increase in Core Spending Power in England from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. This recognises the resources councils need to meet their pressures and maintain current service levels.

Community Renewal Fund

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the details of all non-successful bids made to the Community Renewal Fund by lead authorities.

Neil O'Brien: All unsuccessful bids made to the Community Renewal Fund have been published.

Levelling Up Fund

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the location is of each Levelling Up Fund application by parliamentary constituency.

Neil O'Brien: On 27 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the winners of the first round of the Levelling Up Fund. This will see £1.7 billion of funding allocated to 105 projects. Citizens across the UK can expect to see projects getting underway from early 2022.305 Levelling Up Fund bids were received on time, of which 105 were successful. Unfortunately, data is not held for bids at constituency level. The attached table provides a breakdown of the 305 Levelling Up Fund bids by local authority area.Local authority bid number table (xlsx, 21.6KB)

Leasehold: Service Charges

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of redress available to leaseholders who wish to challenge a service charge increase at a First-tier Property Tribunal, where the freeholder is in administration and the administrator then resigns.

Eddie Hughes: The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The law is clear that service charges and any increase in costs must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard.The Government believes that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.Leaseholders may make an application to the appropriate tribunal (the First-tier Tribunal in England and the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales) for it to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges, and may continue to do so even if the freeholder is in administration, and if the administrator then resigns.Where a freeholder is in administration, an agent or administrator acting on its behalf is required to take on the responsibilities of the freeholder. This means that leaseholders still have the right to challenge the reasonableness of any charges.It is for the appropriate tribunal to determine whether the case can continue to be heard. In some cases the administrator might resign, and if for that reason does not engage in the tribunal proceedings on behalf of the landlord, the appropriate tribunal may still determine that the leaseholder is not liable to pay the service charge in whole or in partFollowing the resignation of an administrator, an application to appoint a new administrator will generally be made. Such applications will be made to the Court by either the landlord company, the directors of the company, or a creditor.Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 gives the appropriate tribunal the power to appoint a manager to take over the landlord's right to manage the building under specific circumstances. As part of the process leaseholders are expected to nominate a suggested manager (which may include a managing agent), and the appropriate tribunal will seek assurances that the nominated person is capable of performing the role before issuing an Order.

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to reduce social housing waiting lists.

Christopher Pincher: Local authorities have freedom to set their own criteria determining who qualifies for social housing in their district, and how this is delivered. In doing so, they must ensure that reasonable preference (overall priority) for social housing is given to certain categories of people in housing need, including homeless households, people living in overcrowded housing, and those who have medical and welfare needs.We are investing in new affordable homes. Our new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. This builds upon the success of our £9 billion Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme, running to 2023, which will deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes.  To further support local authorities to deliver new homes, we have given them more freedom on how they can spend the money they receive from Right to Buy sales on replacement homes. This, combined with the removal of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in 2018 and continued access to low cost borrowing via the Public Works Loan Board, gives local authorities greater flexibility to invest in new homes.

Gazumping

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to protect buyers from the practice of gazumping in residential house purchases and sales.

Christopher Pincher: The Government is committed to improving the home buying and selling process in order to make it quicker and less stressful. We recognise that on occasions, buyers can lose a property because they are 'gazumped' by the seller accepting a higher offer from another buyer.To mitigate this risk, we have been exploring the adoption of voluntary reservation agreements. Buyers and sellers would make a legal commitment to proceed with the sale once an offer has been accepted and may include a financial commitment which would be surrendered to the other side if the party withdraws without good reason such as gazumping.In order to be widely taken up, reservation agreements need to be attractive to buyers and sellers, and promoted by estate agents and legal representatives. Following behavioural insight research, work is now continuing to develop the agreements to make them an effective tool in improving the efficiency of home buying and selling and we hope to be able to evaluate their effectiveness next year

Buildings: Insurance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2021 to Question 59830 on EWS1 forms, if the Government will take further steps to ensure that mortgage lenders do not request EWS1 forms for flats in buildings below 18 metres in height, in line with government guidance.

Christopher Pincher: The Government strongly supports the expert group's view that EWS1s should not be required for buildings under 18 metres and continues to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process. Government continues to engage directly with lenders on this issue.

Park Homes: Fees and Charges

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to link park home pitch fee increases to CPI.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to improving protections for park home residents and this includes changing the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). We will introduce the required legislation when the parliamentary timetable allows

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 67182 on Buildings: Fire Prevention, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of mechanisms to minimise disruption and ensure that cladding, insulation and other elements of a building are only removed once for remediation, including in circumstances when the funding for that remediation is from two or more sources, such as the Building Safety Fund and residents directly, and which may cover separate elements of the work.

Christopher Pincher: Building owners are responsible for the safety of their building, including keeping residents informed of any building safety work they are undertaking and for making sure that any disruption to residents is minimised. There is no requirement by Government to plan or fund other works unrelated to the removal of unsafe cladding in order for Government-funded remediation to take place.

High Rise Flats: Bristol

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government will take to ensure the delay in the Planning Inspectorate report on the Silverthorne Lane development in Bristol does not have a negative impact on the construction of the Oasis Academy Secondary School, in the event that approval for the development is granted.

Christopher Pincher: The proposed school, the Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, has a current target for opening in 2025, subject to planning permission being granted. It is to be funded by the Department for Education to address a shortage of secondary places in central and east Bristol. The Planning Inspectorate is liaising with officials in my department on programming, and speaking with officials in the Department for Education in order to achieve the target.

Flats: Insulation

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing additional guidance to prevent leaseholders from being liable for 100 per cent of the remediation costs for replacing dangerous cladding in cases where they only own part of a flat through Help to Buy or similar shared ownership schemes.

Christopher Pincher: The Government's position is that building owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased through the Help to Buy scheme. In line with this, building owners should pursue all routes to meet costs. For example, through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work. The Government remains committed to protecting leaseholders from unaffordable costs and will continue to examine what more can be done to protect and support all leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased their homes through Help to Buy.

High Rise Flats: Bristol

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the reasons are for the delay in the publication of the Planning Inspectorate report on the Silverthorne Lane development in the St Philips area of Bristol.

Christopher Pincher: Following the closure of the Inquiry into the Silverthorne Lane development the Inspector is now preparing her report and recommendation for Ministers to consider. The Inspector has had to seek further evidence from parties on revisions to published guidance made after the close of the inquiry. When her report is submitted, the target date for determining the application will be published.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Expenditure

Mhairi Black: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his Departments total overall spending was in 2020-21.

Mr Alister Jack: As reported in the annual report and accounts publication, the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General’s spending for 2020-21 was £12.8m.This does not include the transfer of £43.371 billion of funding to the Scottish Consolidated Fund, the details of which can be found at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1002998/Office_of_the_Secretary_of_State_for_Scotland_and_Office_of_the_Advocate_General_for_Scotland_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2020-2021.pdf

Scotland Office: Staff

Mhairi Black: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many staff were employed by his department in 2020-21.

Mr Alister Jack: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland is a small Ministerial Department, which does not employ staff directly. Those that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government Departments, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice who remain the employers.Detailed staffing information is already published annually, within the Staff Report of the Scotland Office Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 - Scotland Office Annual Report 20/21. Copies are also available from the Library of the House.

Lord Advocate

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has received recent communications from the Scottish Government on the role of the Lord Advocate.

Mr Alister Jack: I have not received any recent communications from the Scottish Government regarding the role of the Lord Advocate.

Cabinet Office

UK Trade with EU: Import Controls

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost to the Government is of new border infrastructure, including IT systems, put in place to process goods imported from the EU.

Michael Ellis: In July 2020, the Government announced a £705 million package of investment in border infrastructure, staff and technology to ensure GB border systems would be ready for the transition period. This included the £200 million Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF), £270 million for inland infrastructure and a further £235 million for border IT, systems and recruitments.As of early December 2021, £95.5 million in grants from the PIF had been disbursed to ports to cover verified expenditure to date. Of the £200 million PIF, we expect all of the £195 million allocated to ports to be spent by the end of the current (2021-22) financial year. Additionally, by December 2021, the Department for Transport had spent £292.2 million on inland border infrastructure and the running of Information and Advice sites.HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has ongoing funding to deliver the key priorities for EU Exit. As of early December 2021, HMRC had spent, for example, £9 million scaling up the existing Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system, £45 million on the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) and an additional £76 million on Inland Border Facility (IBF) development.Since departments have border-related funding built into their baseline budgets, it is not straightforward to provide the total cost to the Government of all new border infrastructure and IT systems to date. Spending is ongoing and will be accounted for by departments in the usual way.

UK Domestic Advisory Group and UK-EU Civil Society Forum

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the extension to the Expression of Interest to determine membership of the Domestic Advisory Group  and Civil Society Forum was communicated to (a) the devolved administrations and (b) wider stakeholders.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department has conveyed to applicants of the Domestic Advisory Group and Civil Society Forum since the first closing date for applications on 9 November 2021.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether applicants to the Domestic Advisory Group and Civil Society Forum will be informed of the outcome of their applications before the House rises for the Christmas 2021 recess.

Michael Ellis: The Expression of Interest was reopened from 9 November until 15 November and again on 24 November until 29 November. This was communicated through GOV.UK and the Cabinet Office Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. The Devolved Administrations, Whitehall Departments and Crown Dependencies were informed through emails and/or verbally so they could update their stakeholders.We have confirmed receipt of applications upon request and communicated the reopening of the Expression of Interest through GOV.UK and the Cabinet Office Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.Applicants to the Domestic Advisory Group will be informed of the outcome of their applications in the coming weeks, probably early in the New Year. Applicants to the Civil Society Forum will be informed of the outcome of their applications once the guidelines which underpin the forum are agreed by the UK-EU TCA Partnership Council.

Government Departments: Remote Working

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the degree of compliance by UK Government departmental offices located in the devolved nations with the guidance on the need for continued home working issued by the devolved administrations.

Michael Ellis: Civil Service employers are responsible for following and embedding government guidance across all of the four nations.

Government Departments: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the Department for Health and Social Care and (b) other government departments in tackling backlogs resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.

Michael Ellis: The Government has put the recovery of public services at the heart of its building back better and levelling up agenda. In doing so, we have already laid the foundations for a strong recovery. To support the Department of Health and Social Care, the Government has committed £5.9 billion of capital for elective recovery, diagnostics, and technology over the next three years. In addition, the Government has also committed almost £500 million to target the backlog in the criminal justice system. This work continues at pace across Government. The Cabinet Office continues to work closely with departments to support the world class public services that the UK provides.

Coronavirus: Public Inquiries

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the remit of the public inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 pandemic will include consideration of (a) the destruction of expired doses and (b) any potential wastage of covid-19 vaccines.

Michael Ellis: On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers and that it will begin its work in spring 2022. A chair will be appointed by the end of the year. More details, including the terms of reference for the inquiry, will be set out in due course.

Prime Minister: Merseyside Police

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the Prime Minister wore a police uniform during televised media interviews on 6 December 2021; and whether the Prime Minister sought (a) permission from (i) the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police or (ii) other relevant police authorities to wear police uniform during media interviews and (b) advice from officials on potential implications for the separation of Ministerial and police roles of a Minister (A) wearing  and (B) widely publicising the wearing of police uniform; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Ellis: On 6 December, the Prime Minister accompanied Merseyside Police to watch their County Lines enforcement work in action. His attendance and participation was agreed with Merseyside Police, who ensured that clothing and protective equipment, to reflect the operational conditions, was provided.

10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of hospitality expenses incurred by No. 10 Downing Street for each day of November 2020.

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish full details of visitors admitted to No. 10 Downing Street on each day of (a) November 2020 and (b) December 2020.

Michael Ellis: Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK. Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.

10 Downing Street

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister attended an indoor gathering at Downing Street on 13 November 2020.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon Member to the answers given by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 December and those given by me in the House on 9 December. Copies of the terms of reference for the Cabinet Secretary’s investigations have been placed in the Libraries of the House and are also available on the GOV.UK website.

Department for International Trade

Legal Profession: Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assistance her Department provides to the legal sector to support the extension of the provision of services in (a) India and (b) CPTPP countries.

Mike Freer: HM Government is committed to supporting the UK legal sector as we seek new opportunities with global trade partners in Free Trade Agreements, including addressing market access barriers and supporting recognition of professional qualifications. This work aims to open up markets like India, enabling businesses to benefit from the primacy of English law and its reputation for certainty, commerciality and market acceptability. The Department for International Trade works with a wide range of government departments and stakeholders to promote legal services opportunities, this includes delivering a healthy programme of webinars and events about key markets including Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership members.

Department for International Trade: Litigation Group

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what services the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group has provided to her Department since 1 January 2021.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Since 1st January 2021, the Litigation Group has continued to provide services to the majority of government departments, including the Department for International Trade and ‘UK Export Finance’, executive agencies, and many non-departmental public bodies. The Group’s work encompasses litigation in public and private law as well as supporting public inquiries and acting in Inquests. This has involved, amongst other work, attending in a wide range of courts, including the Coroners’ Courts, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Supreme Court. Their Employment and Commercial Groups similarly provide litigation services to the majority of government departments and have done so in the period in question.

Department for International Trade: Written Questions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she intends to answer Questions 80249, 80250, 80251, 80252 and 80253.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Questions 80249, 80250, 80251, 80252 and 80253 were answered by my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Portsmouth North, on 8th December.

Minerals: Supply Chains

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to work bilaterally to develop closer, alternative critical mineral supply chains.

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many foreign owned companies have critical mineral projects registered in the UK.

Mike Freer: There is a growing interest in critical mineral projects across the United Kingdom, and the Department continues to support such investment opportunities. Most critical mineral projects in the United Kingdom are operated by companies that are registered here. HM Government is working to support and enable more British investment in extraction, processing and refining. We work with our international partners to strengthen critical supply chains too, as we seek to improve our national security and economic resilience. We have committed to publishing a Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022, which will set out how we will establish an enabling environment for growing the sector domestically, and how we can work internationally to secure the sustainability of Britain’s supply.

Hydrogen: Exports

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans she has to prioritise the export of hydrogen technology in the delivery of her Department's new export strategy.

Mike Freer: The UK is already an exporter of fuel cell and electrolyser technologies, and our world class engineering, procurement, and construction management services are well geared to support international opportunities as the global hydrogen economy grows. The Export Strategy will help internationalise this key low carbon technology through its business-centred 12-point plan, providing dedicated support in the UK and key hydrogen markets, so that businesses can capitalise on new opportunities, access more markets, obtain trade finance, and support and raise the profile of UK expertise and suppliers.

Arms Trade: Exports

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value has been of defence exports to Chile in the last 20 years, by export.

Mike Freer: Although defence and security export statistics by region are published annually on GOV.UK. they do not separately identify data relating to individual countries. For the period, 2001 to 2020, the value of UK defence exports to Latin America are estimated at around £1.56Bn.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Suicide

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, (a) how many customer suicides have been reported by gambling operators for the past three years,  (b) which operators have reported these and (c) how many of these suicides have been investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Chris Philp: Since the start of 2018, the Gambling Commission has been notified of and investigated reports of eight deaths by suicide where gambling may have been a factor. Seven of these cases were reported to it by the operator and one by family members. Operators who are aware of a death by suicide which may be linked to their gambling facilities are expected to notify the Commission so that the Commission can investigate whether there has been a breach of social responsibility codes and licence conditions and whether enforcement action is appropriate. It does not publish the names of operators which have reported information about deaths, but details of its findings following concluded enforcement action are published on its website.

Youth Work: Qualifications

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of the number of qualified youth workers.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of training places for youth workers.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of supply of volunteer youth workers to meet demand on youth services.

Nigel Huddleston: To support the youth workforce, DCMS funds the National Youth Agency to set professional standards, qualifications and a curriculum for youth work, including a new youth work apprenticeship and free-to-access training. DCMS bursaries have fully-funded hundreds of individuals to gain youth work qualifications who otherwise may have been excluded due to cost. Over the past two years we have worked with the National Youth Agency to help more than 900 youth workers gain qualifications and institute a new youth work apprenticeship.In addition, through the Volunteering Futures Fund, £7 million will be made available to improve the accessibility of volunteering in the youth sector, as well as the arts, culture, sports, civil society, and heritage sectors. The fund will help a diverse range of people to access the benefits volunteering can bring. There will be a strong focus on young people, those experiencing loneliness, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether organisations that have received funding from the Tampon Tax Fund will continue to receive Government funding after the end of the fund.

Nigel Huddleston: The Chancellor announced on 1st January 2021 that the ‘Tampon Tax’ would end. This was due to exiting the EU and the UK no longer being bound by the EU VAT Directive to charge 5% tax on all sanitary products. The final competition round for funding took place in 2021 with all successful applicants announced on gov.uk on Tuesday 16th November.As is set out in organisations’ grant agreements (and originally within guidance to applicants) funding is delivered for projects over a set period of time, and projects are designed on this basis. Applicants were asked to outline the long-term sustainability of project activities, demonstrating that the impact of the project will last beyond Tampon Tax funding. Furthermore, applicants were asked to explain how they would use up to 10% of their grant funding to improve the sustainability of their organisations.The 26 live Tampon Tax Fund grants will end by 31st March 2023.As VAT on sanitary products ceased on the 1st January 2021, there will be no further funds to distribute.

UK Athletics: Resignations

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with UK Athletics on the resignation of both the Chief Executive and Performance Director of that body on 20 October 2021.

Nigel Huddleston: Ministers have had no direct discussions with UK Athletics since October 2021. This relationship is managed by UK Sport who keep the government closely sighted on issues through Board meetings and regular engagement with Ministers and officials.The Department is confident that fair and proper processes are in place to ensure the best candidates possible are appointed to leadership roles in National Governing Bodies which are funded by UK Sport.

Football

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that (a) threats against referees are not carried out and (b) they are adequately protected against such threats.

Nigel Huddleston: Violence against match officials is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated within the administration of any sport, including football. No-one should receive abuse at their workplace or in wider society, and criminal sanctions are in place where relevant.More specifically, the Football Association has recently rolled out a nationwide respect campaign, “Pledge for Positivity”, which calls on coaches, parents and spectators of grassroots football to withhold their frustrations at match officials in an effort to create a more positive environment.The FA have also designed a specific training module for aspiring referees on how to deal with abuse which is included in their Referee Course run at county level alongside other initiatives that are being rolled out to tackle abuse. These include a campaign promoting referees under the age of 18 to wear brightly coloured items of clothing to signal their age to others in an effort to reduce potential safeguarding issues or having mentors on standby to offer advice and support in the face of abuse.

Internet: Pornography

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children accessing online commercial pornography sites.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the level of risk and harm to children and young people from accessing commercial non-user to user generated pornography.

Chris Philp: Preventing children from accessing harmful content such as online pornography is a priority for the government and the strongest protections in the draft Online Safety Bill are for children. The draft Bill covers many of the most visited pornography sites, social media platforms, video-sharing sites, forums and search engines - thereby capturing many of the sites through which children access pornography.The Government recognises that a large amount of pornography is available on the internet with little or no protection to ensure that those accessing it are old enough to do so and that this is changing the way young people understand healthy relationships, sex and consent. Research published by the British Board of Film Classification in 2020, showed that the three most likely routes for children’s intentional viewing of pornography are image or video search engines (53% of children who intentionally sought out pornography have seen it here), social media sites (44% of children who intentionally sought out pornography have seen it here), and dedicated pornography sites (43% of children who intentionally sought out pornography have seen it here). While these figures only account for where children have seen pornography and not the total number or frequency of visits, it does highlight that children use a range of sources to access pornography.My department has also commissioned research recently to develop the evidence base on the prevalence and impact of harmful content online to children, which includes online pornography.